MW2: Retaliation
by shadow332
Summary: From the opening days of the war to the end, follow the men who took the fight from America back to Russia. Parallels Modern Warfare 2 from Marine perspective. Coarse language and battle scenes.
1. Prologue

The gunfire added to the shouts, screams, and death that already echoed throughout the hallway. The dull grey walls were riddled with bullet holes and in some spots, where grenades had exploded, missing sections of the wall entirely. Painstaking progress had yielded only two floors cleared in the last hour: there were three more in this building alone. They knew once this building had finally been cleared, that at least a dozen more waited them as they progressed further into the port.

"Get on your SAW and lay down some goddamn fire," shouted a squad leader as he glanced at his team behind him.

The Marine hustled to the front of the column and peered around the corner. Fifteen meters down the hall he could see several Russian soldiers aiming down their rifles towards him. He quickly returned to cover as a hail of bullets poured from the Russian guns.

"Are you waiting for something," the squad leader questioned, "Use your weapon Marine."

"Christ this is suicide," the gunner mumbled as he went to a prone position and leaned his upper body to the right.

A volley of over fifty rounds were fired in the matter of seconds from the single gunner. The heads of the Russians dropped below the cover they had and one of the Russians dropped to the ground missing a part of his forehead.

"Go," the gunner shouted as he fired another volley down the hallway.

The squad leader leaned from the corner over top of the gunner and tossed a grenade down the hallway followed by a second. A third Marine appeared from the column and also tossed a grenade down the hallway towards the Russians. The Marines retreated behind the cover of the corner an instant before the three grenades exploded, sending chunks of wall, debris, and body parts across the hallway. A fine cloud of dust hung over the air as the Marines burst from their position and towards the Russians, firing several rounds each, into the last known positions of the Russians as they raced forward.

As they overran the Russian positions, only one was found to be still in the land of the living. The Russian's left leg had been blown apart by the exploding grenades, blood had splattered on the walls and was now pooling at the gory stump that was left just above where the knee should have been. His stubble on his face was almost obscured by the dirt, cuts and blood that now adorn it. The screaming and shouts were quickly silenced by an 9mm pistol round, as the Marines moved passed the position and continued on towards the fighting that lay ahead of them.

"Holy shit you see that guy's leg," the gunner inquired after the team had entered a room and found it void of hostile Russians.

"Hell yeah, it was blown clean the-"

"Heffron, Reily," the squad leader angrily shouted as he heard the two Marines let their focus go elsewhere, "Shut your fucking mouths."

"Christ Eric," the gunner, Lance Corporal Marcus Heffron argued back, "What crawled up your ass?"

The squad leader stormed across the small room towards Heffron, "What's up my ass," he shouted inches from Heffron's face, "We've lost twelve Marines in the last hour in this building alone, and you're making jokes about the fucking Russians who killed them."

The silence in the room was broken only by the rushing of boots and Marines past the door towards the fighting. The words sunk in to each of the Marines in the room.

"Now get your game face back on and let's go kill some Russians," the squad leader said with a feint smirk. He then exited the room to the hallway and joined the other Marines passing by as he toggled his LASH headset, "Saber Two, Saber Two-One, third floor is clear, how copy?"

The third Marine in the room, Corporal Thomas Barnes, approached Heffron and patted him on the shoulder, "You really are a dumbass sometimes you know," he said laughing as he exited the room and joined the squad leader.

"I thought it was cool, reminded me of that dude we found in Afghanistan," Lance Corporal Sean Reily said as the two finally left the room.

* * *

The four Marines entered the stairwell and continued up two flights of stairs to the fifth floor. Below them on the fourth floor, Marines from 1st Platoon were pitted against a squad sized force of Russians who fought for every inch of space.

The squad leader, Sergeant Eric Pierce, nodded his head towards his team, and with the training and precision they had practiced for years, burst out of the stairwell onto the fifth floor.

"Clear right," Reily shouted as he was the first in followed closely by Barnes and the remained of the team.

With the area clear momentarily, the four man team quickly moved down the hallway and took positions covering the door as more Marines from the company poured out. A second fireteam moved past Pierce and his men as they took point through the hallway. The dull grey walls and windowless hallways created a maze effect that disoriented some of the Marines as to which direction the Russians were.

Clad in desert MARPAT fatigues with vital areas covered by his Modular Tactical Vest and lightweight helmet, Sergeant Eric Pierce was carrying more than thirty-five pounds of protective gear as he followed the fireteam ahead of him down the hallway. Hefting an M4A1 attached with an M203 grenade launcher, the sergeant was a fierce looking warrior who had proved himself time and again in combat over the years.

"Door comin' up," the leading sergeant said.

The fireteam stacked up on the door as Pierce and his team took up a guard position around them. The door to the room was kicked, breaking the hinges and sending the door swinging inward. The four man team was through the door in a matter of seconds, only to be cut down by a hail of gunfire emanating from the back of the room. Several Russians were barricaded behind cover and their weapons were trained on the only entrance to the room.

"Jesus," Barnes shouted as the gunfire erupted from the room a mere meter to his right, "Contact right."

Two of the Marines had survived the gunfire and were now screaming in pain as blood gushed from their wounds. Instinctively Barnes and Reily reached for the wounded Marines and dragged them from the door towards a corpsman who was already racing forward from the back of the group. The hallway now filled with shouts as the Marines reacted to the new threat that emerged from the room. The wounded Marines were passed off to others behind Pierce and his team, who now were in the lead of the group.

"Tommy, Sean," Pierce shouted, "Frag 'em out on my go."

The three Marines stacked up against the wall, Barnes, Pierce then Reily, and each removed a frag grenade from their combat webbing.

Pierce nodded his head, "Do it."

The three pulled the pins from their grenades and waited a moment before Barnes lobbed his grenade through the door frame. He then moved off the wall and allowed Pierce to throw his grenade through the door. Pierce followed the same motion as Reily was the last to toss his grenade through the door. A moment later, an explosion rocked the room followed quickly by a second and third. Delaying a few seconds after the final explosion, the fireteam burst into the room firing rounds as they entered towards the Russian positions.

Dust obscured the room as the Marines burst in and converged on the Russians. The lights had been blown out by the explosions, severely limiting their vision as they swarmed the room.

"Clear left," Barnes shouted.

"Clear right," Reily echoed.

The Russian position had been devastated by the explosions, the tables used as cover had been blown apart and the bodies that lay around the area were missing limbs. Pools of blood were now forming underneath the dead Russians. Pierce saw that the room had been stocked with boxes of munitions and weapons and could have been rigged to explode at any moment. He was frankly surprised they had not exploded after the grenades had gone off.

"Tommy get out of here," he said still looking at the vast amount of munitions that lined the wall.

The team exited the room followed several seconds later by Pierce. The two dead Marines had been moved from the area back towards the stairwell along with the two wounded.

"Saber Two, this is Two-One," Pierce began.

"Two-One this is Two, send it."

"We have four men down, two wounded, two K.I.A. over."

"Two copies all, continue mission, out."

Pierce looked down the hallway, behind him were fifteen trained, and heavily armed Marines crouched against the wall waiting to move forward. He took a deep breath before patting Barnes on his shoulder who was crouched beside him scanning forward. The pat on his shoulder was the sign for Barnes to move out. He got to his feet and began walking forward, hugging the right wall of the hallway with his weapon trained forward.

* * *

Several rooms were passed and each were cleared of Russians, using different strategies than the first room they encountered which resulted in three Marines killed; one of the wounded died as he was being carried down the stairs towards evac.

Barnes carefully approached the last door on the floor which was slightly cracked open. Inside, he could hear rustling and the murmur of voices. He stopped in his tracks and held his left hand up in a fist, stopping the column of Marines behind him.

"What'd you wanna do Eric," he whispered to Pierce who was behind him.

"Easy or hard way?"

Barnes turned his head left slightly so he could see Pierce from the corner of his eye. A smirk appeared on Barnes' face as he said, "Easy way."

Pierce smiled as he pulled a frag grenade from his webbing, with Barnes doing the same. Pierce moved forward next to Barnes. Pierce removed the pin from his grenade and released the spoon as Barnes reached out with his right hand and pushed the door inward.

The grenade bounced off the wall of the room and settled on the floor behind a Russian. After Pierce threw his grenade, Barnes had pulled the pin on his and tossed it into the room as well. Again, explosions rocked the building as the interior of the room was turned to a cloud of grey dust. The fireteam entered the room with weapons at the ready for contact, but they met none. More Russians lay dead in the room, and with that, the fifth floor was cleared. The team exited the room and met again with the Marines in the hallway. A large window shown north, showing the buildings that still needed to be cleared of Russians.

Pierce toggled the radio again, "Saber Two, Two-One, fifth floor is clear over."

The platoon commander responded, "Two-One, Two Actual, good work. Sixth floor has been cleared by Saber Three, how copy?"

"Solid copy Two, which building's next on the list," Pierce asked as he looked out the window towards the buildings.

"None of 'em Two-One, Scarface Actual has ordered airstrikes on the buildings, too many casualties so far."

The response was both a blessing and a curse, no more fighting for now, but far too many Marines had died so far and command didn't want to risk anymore men.

"ETA on airstrikes Two," Pierce asked.

"Sixty seconds Two-One, hunker down, Two out."

Pierce called for his team to meet in front of the window to watch the airstrike that was inbound. The dozen buildings that lay before them varied in size, each filled with Russians. Heffron was in the middle of saying something when the first bomb landed, followed by countless more. The shockwave blew out the window but left the team unscratched except for a cut on Reily's face. The rumbling and noise of the explosions caused the team to hunker down and wait it out.

Two minutes later, after the dust had cleared, what lay before them was a wasteland. A dozen buildings had been flattened by the bombs and the remains of the buildings jutted out from the ground.

"Holy shit," Barnes remarked as he looked at the devastation before him.

The Marines crowded the window, looking in shock at the destruction, but Pierce was focused on something else. Behind the rumble of the buildings, several additional columns of black smoke rose into the air, they were coming from the _USS Nimitz_ and _USS Carl Vinson_. The smoke rose into the air, higher than the buildings of downtown San Diego, reminding Pierce, that war had come home.


	2. Get Some

Six Marines were huddled around a Humvee as the latest intel was relayed to them by 2nd Platoon's commanding officer, Lieutenant Todd Burris. The Marines had been on stand down for the last eight hours after their assault on the buildings at Naval Air Station North Island. Now, they were being called on again to clear out the last pocket of Russian resistance in the city.

"Latest intel says that they occupy this northeast peninsula just off of the Silver Strand Boulevard," Burris said as he pointed the locations out on the map that was lying on the hood of the Humvee, "Scarface wants us to be on point for the assault to mark targets for the Cobras and heavy ass that should be arriving any minute. Eric I want your team on point for this."

"Roger that El-Tee," Pierce said nodding, "Sir, once we make a push through, I want to take my team and put them in one of these tall buildings so we can direct strikes better."

"I like that idea Eric," Burris said approvingly as he continued to look over the map.

"What about the civilian population in there," Sgt Bowren asked.

"The AO is completely cleared, anything you see not Marine," Burris began as he looked up from the map, "You light it the fuck up Chris."

The team leaders nodded their heads in understanding as the briefing continued. Ten minutes later, they returned to their teams.

"So what's the word Eezy," Barnes asked as Pierce appeared at the side of the Humvee.

"We've been tasked with leading the assault on the last pocket of resistance," Pierce said as he placed his M4 inside the Humvee and took a seat.

"Well that's just great," Barnes complained pitching a bag of Skittles against the windshield, "Why don't they just bomb the shit out of them like they did yesterday on base?"

"Because Corporal Barnes," Pierce said after he downed half a bottle of water, "That would be too easy for us, gotta do it the Marine way remember?"

"Yeah, well this Marine thinks that command is retarded and should just blow shit up from a distance."

"Yeah but this is better," Heffron chimed in from the back seat of the vehicle, "Now we're the ones that get to blow shit up."

"Hey Sean," Pierce said as Barnes and Heffron argued back and forth, "Go prep the M40, might come in handy."

Reily opened the rear hatch and pulled a gun-case that held the M40A5 from the Humvee. He laid the case on the hood of the Humvee and began checking the optics and cleaning the weapon. The Humvee was parked underneath camouflage netting on the tarmac of what remained of NAS North Island. The airfield had been converted to a parking lot of Marine vehicles and aircraft. Humvees, Amphibious Assault Vehicles, LAV-25s and several M1A1 Abrams were positioned around the base while in the north corner the airstrip, a dozen AH-1Z SuperCobras were sitting, being prepped by flight crews for the upcoming assault.

* * *

An hour later, the platoon was on the road south out of the base. The six Humvees carrying the men of 2nd Platoon were the leading tip of the convoy: over a hundred and fifty Marines and a dozen LAV-25s. After driving down the sunny Southern California highway for ten minutes, the vehicles were at the rally point.

Burris' voice filled the interior of the Humvee from the radio, "All Saber Victors, this is Saber Two, dismount and continue on foot from this location, over."

"You heard the man Tommy, park it over there," Pierce said pointing towards a sand covered parking lot overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

The vehicle came to a stop, crunching the sand beneath the tires. Pierce opened the door of the Humvee and stepped out, greeted by the warm breeze of the Pacific Coast. As the doors slammed shut around him, Pierce removed his Oakley sunglasses and put them in one of the breast pockets of his MTV.

Pierce turned back towards the north, he could see the full force of what was behind him. The LAV-25s rolled past Pierce's position and took up positions facing the Russians. The LAVs were followed closely behind by several AAV personnel carriers, each loaded with twenty Marine riflemen.

"Well gents," Pierce began, "Let's get to work."

The twenty-four men of 2nd Platoon took off from their parked Humvees across the boulevard and entered the industrial park that the Russians had chosen to occupy. Before them lay a maze of crisscrossed roads and streets with warehouses, buildings, and parking structures mixed in.

As the platoon was crouched behind one of the LAVs, Barnes commented on the situation, "It's gonna be a long ass day."

* * *

"Sean get the designator from the bag," Pierce shouted over the gunfire that filled the street.

"I'm on it," Reily said as he reached into the equipment bag and retrieved a small, camcorder sized device.

Reily moved along the building to the corner where Pierce and Barnes were and and handed the device to Barnes. Barnes poked his head around from the cover and directed the infrared designator towards the second floor of a building one hundred meters from the team. Twenty other Marines were in cover firing around their position, their advance stopped by this building.

Pierce crouched and adjusted the radio to the correct channel, "Cujo Flight, this is Saber Two-One, how copy?"

"Saber Two-One, this is Cujo Flight, send it."

"Roger Cujo, priority target grid EFX230B," Pierce said as he looked at the small folded map, "Target is lit, how copy?"

"Solid copy Saber Two-One, we're inbound, keep your heads down."

Pierce turned his head towards the ocean, and in the distance, he could see two specks appear in the air that quickly became larger as they moved towards him.

Pierce keyed his LASH headset, "All Sabers this is Two-One, airstrike inbound, hunker down."

Around the street, the Marine fireteams that were firing towards the building ceased the firing and got behind whatever cover they could, corners, cars, even dumpsters. The two SuperCobras flew in at around two hundred meters above the street. From the stubby wings, a dozen rockets were fired from each aircraft. The Hydra 70 free flight rockets slammed into the three story building all along the front, collapsing the majority of the building sending a column of dust skyward. Shouts and cheers roared from the Marine positions as the concrete still fell from the destroyed building. The Russian fire had ceased, opening up the street to continue the assault.

"Hell yeah baby," Barnes shouted pounding his fist in the air.

"Knock that off Tommy, you look like a jackass," Pierce said shaking his head as he looked at Barnes.

"Come on Eric, you know that was cool," Barnes said turning his head and staring at Pierce, "We just blew the shit out of another building. God I love this job."

LAV-25s rolled by the team's position shaking the ground, several more SuperCobras thundered by over head of them. As the helos continued north, a streak of grey smoke appeared from further down the road and streaked into the group of SuperCobras. The missile struck one of the helicopters, swatting it from the sky, sending the burning wreck spiraling down to the ground. Pierce followed it as the aircraft fell until it was obscured by buildings. A fireball shot into the sky, signifying the crash and death of the helo.

Pierce slammed a fresh magazine into his M4 and pulled the charging handle back, "Get up, we're oscar-mike."

2nd Platoon moved forward, keeping pace with the LAV-25s as they blasted away at the Russian positions with their 25 mm chain guns. Rocket propelled grenades, AT-4 rockets, and thousands of rounds of bullets filled the air south of San Diego. The Marines slowly trudged forward through it, taking casualties, but inflicting much more.

Four hours into the fight, 2nd Platoon had reached a five story building that over looked the entire area. As they approached, they took sniper fire from the building, Corporal Olsen was killed by a round penetrating his neck. The remainder took cover behind cars and in door frames.

"Two-One on me," Pierce shouted as he rushed across the street from behind cover towards the building.

Seven Marines joined Pierce on the wall of the building, out of the fire coming from the snipers above them. The rest of the platoon stayed on the street, firing up at the fourth floor where the Russians were. Pierce led the squad into the building, checking the corners as they burst through the ground floor door.

The entrance was clear but the number of Russians in the building was unknown, raising the tension of the Marines as they began the tedious work of clearing the building room by room. In five minutes, the first floor was cleared and no Russians had been found. The eight men moved up the stairs to the second floor.

Barnes was first out of the stairwell, he crouched and peered out of the door towards the left. Less than fifteen meters away were two Russians, that hadn't noticed Barnes. He quickly raised his rifle and sighted the two. Barnes' movement attracted their attention but it was too late, he fired several rounds at head height towards them. Their bodies dropped to the floor. Barnes quickly rushed out of the stairwell towards cover behind a desk as the other Marines poured from the stairs.

"Contact left," Barnes shouted as he saw more Russians appear from a room further down.

He answered the new Russians with more rounds tearing into them, joined by Pierce, Reily, and the other Marines of the squad. The noise of the gunfire filled the floor of the partially constructed building. The floors were complete and several rooms were walled, but mostly, the floors consisted of I-beam supports and piles of I-beams and steel.

The fire from the Marine guns were too much for the six Russians that fought back on the floor. They were quickly killed, adding more Russian blood to the Southern California landscape. The squad checked themselves to make sure no one was wounded before continuing to the third floor through a different stairwell. The Russian gunfire above them and the Marine fire from the ground continued, though now it was significantly less than it had been. Pierce wondered whether that was good or bad for his fellow Marines.

The third floor resembled the second, still under construction with supplies and equipment everywhere. The Russians on this floor had scattered and the Marines were not met with fire when they exited the stairwell. They spread out, and began searching the floor. Reily was on the left side of the group, against a drywall that was up, as he approached the edge, he poked his head around and saw several Russians behind stacked I-beams.

"Get down," he shouted.

Not a moment after he yelled and the team hit the floor, bullets ripped through the drywall, holes appearing all across the thin wall. The team quickly crawled behind random equipment and supplies that were about the area, anything that would offer more protection than the drywall.

"Jesus Christ could that have been any closer," Barnes yelled as he pushed up against several I-beams.

"Shut up," Pierce said calmly as he keyed his headset, "Two-One Bravo, we're pinned down on the west side, can you flank them anyway, over?"

"Two-One, Bravo, give us a minute, over," elsewhere on the floor, Sergeant Chris Bowren and his fireteam moved the opposite direction to find the Russians that had pinned down the other team.

The fire from the Russians hadn't let up, stranding Pierce and his team behind makeshift cover as they sat waiting for Bowren and his team to do something. Heffron poked his head above the cover and tried to get a bead on the Russians firing.

"Get your damn head down," Pierce barked as he saw this, "You wanna get shot or something?"

Heffron dropped back below the cover, "Just trying to shoot back Sarge."

"Don't," Pierce said coldly, "Bowren and his guys are over there and you don't know where they're at. You could whack friendlies."

Barnes laughed, "Stupid new guy, didn't they teach you anything in Basic?"

The fire from the other side of the wall immediately picked up, then abruptly ceased after several seconds.

Pierce's earpiece came alive, "Two-One, this is Two-One Bravo, how copy?"

"Solid copy Bravo."

"Enemy neutralized, floor's clear, its safe to move, over."

"Roger that Bravo," Pierce said as he stood up from the cover, "Meet you at the stairs, Two-One out."

The two teams regrouped at the stairwell leading to the fourth floor. After reloading their weapons, they proceeded up the stairs once more. As Barnes quietly crept up the stairs, he could hear voices coming from somewhere on the floor. As he was about to exit the stairwell, Barnes quickly stopped and held his fist in the air, stopping the rest of the Marines. Across the doorway, was a thin wire which was most likely attached to an explosive device.

Barnes signaled to the wire as he carefully stepped over it. He then crouched behind cover and took aim at the Russians. He held his fire until the other Marines had crossed the wire and were in position. The Russians, four of them, were lying prone on the edge of the building firing down on the Marines below. Pierce drew a bead on one of the Russians, lying thirty meters away, and fired.

A hail of bullets found the Russian soldiers, their bodies torn apart by the rounds. After waiting a moment for any additional movement, Pierce signaled for them to move forward.

"Saber Two, this is Two-One, fourth floor is cleared, watch your fire, over."

"Two-One, Two, roger that, good work."

The fire from the Marines below stopped, and the area became relatively quiet; explosions and gunfire could still be heard in the surrounding area. As the four bodies were searched by his team, Pierce moved to the stairwell and detonated the explosives from a safe position. He walked back towards the Marines.

"Chris go check the fifth floor then head back down here, oorah?"

"Oorah Eric," Bowren said as he led his team towards the stairs.

Pierce looked at his team, "Sean get the M40 and lets set an OP set up."

The four Marines got to work setting their observation post up on the fourth floor of the building. The sun was still high in the sky, and several battles raged below them on the streets: the fight for San Diego was still not over.


	3. Overwatch

The main push of the Russian invasion was directed at Washington D.C. However raids against key military installations occurred throughout the United States. One of the main installations struck was Naval Air Station North Island, home port of three _Nimitz_-class supercarriers. The initial strike damaged two of the carriers and crippled the air operations of NAS North Island. Russian troops dispersed throughout the surrounding area south of San Diego killing any civilians and military personnel that were in their path. Marines from Camp Pendleton were immediately deployed to San Diego to combat the Russian troops and eradicate them from the city. Included in the Marines dispatched to San Diego, was Sergeant Eric Pierce and his team, members of the 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion from the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command.

"RPG, two-two-zero meters, wind west to east, quarter value, behind the red pickup," Pierce mumbled as he peered through magnified binoculars, "On scope."

Lying next to Pierce, LCpl. Reily sighted his M40A5 onto the target, a Russian soldier hefting an RPG-7 tube who was crouched behind a pickup truck in the parking lot adjacent to the building they were in. The Russian and his squad continued to advance through the parking lot closer to the building Pierce was in. Advancing up the street opposite of the Russians, four LAV-25s and a platoon of Marines, oblivious to the approaching threat in the parking lot.

Reily made an adjustment to the dial atop the scope and said, "On target."

The Russian popped his head above cover.

"Fire," Pierce said.

A single 7.62 NATO round exploded out of the M40 at 2,550 feet per second. The bullet traversed the distance and struck the Russian in the forehead in less than a second. Upon seeing their comrade fall, the remaining squad of Russians opened up at the advancing Marines, thinking the bullet had come from them. Reily remained invisible, thanks to the sound suppressor attached to the muzzle of the rifle.

"Good hit," Pierce congratulated as he watched the Russian's head turn to a pink mist, "Second target, low profile, behind the dumpster."

"Got him," Reily said as he adjusted.

"Fire," the second round struck the Russian in the neck, his body crumpling to the ground, "Hit."

The Russian squad was in disarray as fire from Reily and the advancing Marines cut down those who were brave enough to poke out of cover. Several minutes later and four more shots, all hits, and the Marines were advancing past the parking lot, fifteen Russians lay dead on the pavement.

The team had been in their observation post for just over an hour and on all sides, Marines were making slow progress forward. Reily already had twenty two kills under his belt with the M40, and there were still plenty of targets in their AO.

Pierce and Reily continued to scan in front of them for targets to engage or call support fire in on; a building had already been leveled by combination of LAV chain guns and Hydra rockets from the circling SuperCobras. Barnes sat behind the two marksmen, manning the radio that connected the team to the SuperCobras and LAVs, while Heffron watched the stairwell incase they were to be attacked from behind.

"God, this is killing me," Barnes complained as he twirled the radio handset around by its cord, "I wanna go shoot something."

"At least you get to kinda blow shit up," Heffron said as he turned his head from the stairwell towards Barnes, "I suppose I could waste this wall though."

"Do that Heff," Pierce said without removing the binoculars from his face, "I'll make sure you're on KP for a month."

Barnes and Heffron both shrugged as they thought about the consequences Pierce threatened. The silence was broken by an explosion in the distance; an LAV-25 exploded as it was struck with several RPGs originating from a building along the road.

"You see 'em," Pierce asked as he shifted his position to range the building.

"I got the building, but no shot on any targets," Reily said as he looked down the scope.

The hull of the LAV-25 could be seen in the road, several bodies were also lying in the street around the burning vehicle as the surviving Marines took cover behind whatever they could. The angle from their current spot offered no shot towards the building facing the road.

"Displace left," Pierce said as he pushed himself up from the floor and hustled towards the northern side of the building and went prone.

Reily followed a moment later and set up the M40 once more, unfolding the bipod and fixing a secure spot to fire from. They both scanned through their scopes trying to find targets.

"Second floor, third window from the left," Reily said as he finally found a target.

From their spot, the two could see pieces of the building burst off as it was hit with small arms fire from the Marines on the street. Barnes joined them a moment later carrying the radio.

"Three-three-five to target, wind west to east three miles, on scope," Pierce said as he found the window and made the calculations.

Reily focused on the window and steadied his breath, "On target."

Both Pierce and Reily waited, watching the window for the Russian to show himself. After what felt like a life time, but in reality was only a few seconds, a figure appeared in the window hoisting a tubed weapon: an RPG-7.

"Fire."

The round streaked toward the target yet missed the Russian by inches.

"Shit," Reily mumbled as he pulled the bolt back, ejecting the spent cartridge.

"You got him," Pierce asked as he continued watching the window.

"On target," Reily replied as he centered the crosshair on the window.

After a few moments, the Russian reappeared again in the window. This time Reily did not miss, striking the Russian in his chest. The force of the impact from the round caused the Russian's finger to depress, firing the RPG-7 inside the building. Fire exploded out several of the windows followed by smoke and dust. Even with the explosion of the RPG, gunfire still came from the building.

"Enough of this shit," Pierce grumbled as he reached to his right and pulled the map in front of him, "Tommy get ready to relay coordinates."

"Got it," Barnes said as he put the handset to his ear, "Cujo Flight, Saber Two-One how copy?"

"Two-One, Cujo Flight, solid copy, send it."

"Ready," Pierce asked as he looked at the map.

"Yeah, give it to me," Barnes said.

"Target grid Echo-Foxtrot-Zulu-Three-Two-Niner, target is lit," Pierce said.

Barnes repeated the order over the handset as Pierce turned the handheld laser device on and held it up, aiming it at the building's roof.

"Thirty seconds out," Barnes said as he dropped the handset and moved to the spot on the floor where Pierce and Reily were to watch the missiles strike.

After lying silent for several seconds, Pierce asked, "Do we have comms with that unit down there?"

Barnes looked at him and made a face, "I don't think so."

Pierce chuckled, "They're gonna be in for a hell of a wake up in a second."

The three Marines laid on the concrete floor observing the battle below them in the distance. The dull thud of rotor blades grew steadily louder as a pair of SuperCobras flew past the building where the team was, and onward towards the target.

Smoke trails left the two aircraft as a dozen rockets slammed into the building that had ambushed the LAV. Sections of the building's roof could be seen collapsing as a second flight of SuperCobras made a pass on the building, firing another dozen rockets into it.

"Get some baby," yelled Heffron from the stairs twenty meters from the rest of the team.

"What a crazy bastard," Barnes said as he got up and moved back towards the radio, "I wasn't like that when I was younger was I?"

"Do you want my honest opinion," Pierce replied grinning.

"Don't be hatin' Eric," Barnes said as he grabbed the handset from the radio, "Cujo, good effect on target, Two-One out."

The three Marines moved back to their original positions as another assault was made on the Russian positions to the south of the building. As they scouted the area, Pierce and Reily could see a formidable defensive position being set up by the Russians. The Marines were sending a large force towards them. Pierce noticed as he scanned the group, that several M1 Abrams were mixed in with the Marines and LAVs.

"Barnes gimme the radio," Pierce said as he looked up from the map.

Barnes handed the handset to Pierce as he went prone next to him.

"Titan Zero-Six, this is Saber Two-One how copy?"

On the street below the team, one of the three M1 Abrams answered the radio call, "Two-One this is Zero-Six, send it."

Pierce looked at his map once more before responding, "Zero-Six be advised, you have large Russian activity approximately five hundred meters at your twelve."

As the tanks rumbled past the building, the tank commander viewed the area through his thermal sights, trying to find out where the called out enemy was located. After searching for a moment, he found what Pierce had seen. He quickly saw over forty white heat signatures moving around a three story building directly to his front.

As he waited for the tank commander to respond, Pierce's headset came alive with Bowren's voice, "Two-One, Two-One Bravo, be advised, friendlies are coming up the stairs to your position, over."

Pierce keyed his LASH, "Bravo, copy, Two-One out," Pierce shouted to Heffron, "Heff we got friendlies coming up the stairs, try not to shoot 'em."

"Will do," Heffron shouted as he heard footsteps pounding up the stairs.

The tank commander's voice came back over the net, "Two-One, we found the targets, thanks for the assist, Zero-Six out."

Pierce gave the handset back to Barnes before holding the binoculars up again, "Range five-one-niner," he began calling out.

As Pierce called out the distances to the building, six men appeared on the floor from the stairwell. Heffron walked them over to where Pierce and Reily were lying.

"Eric," Heffron began, "We got some visitors."

Pierce turned around and faced behind him. Standing alongside Heffron were six men, clad in desert fatigues each with rough, unshaven beards. Three of the men were holding Barrett M82A3 sniper rifles by the handles while the others held Bushmaster ACR assault rifles; rifles not even available to frontline troops yet.

"Sergeant Pierce," one of them asked.

"Yeah that's me," Pierce said getting to his feet; he searched for a name badge on the man but couldn't find one.

"It's Green," the man said, sensing Pierce's search, "SEAL Team Five. We're here to help out and touch some Russians from afar; brought some toys that could be of some assistance," he said, referencing the Light Fifties his men had.

Pierce glanced at the three marksmen with the Barrett rifles, each had pouches stuffed with magazines full of the nasty .50 cal round. There was no comparing the M82A3 to Reily's M40.

"Go a head and pick a spot you like," Pierce said, "Armor assault's making a move over there; could probably use some sniper cover."

"You heard the man, Mac you're with me, the rest of you up a floor," Green said.

The four other SEALs returned to the stairwell and proceeded up the steps to the fifth floor while Green and the marksman named Mac took positions near where Reily was lying.

"So how long have you been up here Sergeant," Green asked as his marksman prepped the fifty.

"Just over two hours I'd say," Pierce replied as he got back down next to Reily and raised the binoculars once more.

"How many kills?"

"Twenty-three from killer here," Barnes said acknowledging Reily, "Plus a shit ton more from the ass and air we've called in."

"Impressive," Green said as he went prone on the floor next to his marksman, "What's the range to this building Sergeant?"

"Five-one-niner, it's at your one o'clock," Pierce said as he scanned the building through his binoculars, "Armor should be rolling into it any minute."

"Well there's no time to waste then," Green said before turning to his marksman, "Dial it in."

The scope on the Barrett was adjusted and final calculations were made by both Pierce and the SEAL snipers. On the fifth floor, the target building had been relayed to the SEALs as they also sighted in targets.

"Gentleman, let's get this party started," Green said into his mic, "On my count, three, two, one, fire."

Three rifles fired near simultaneously, sending three large .50 cal rounds towards the targeted building. All three rounds struck their targets, killing the Russians that were unlucky to be on the receiving end of the rounds. From the observation post, Pierce's team and the SEAL team could fire down onto the Russian held building in the distance. The first threats eliminated were the Russians that were positioned on the rooftop with RPG-7s and high powered rifles.

The banging of the three Light Fifty's continued for several minutes. Each gunshot usually meant that another Russian had been killed and was no longer a threat. Because of the added firepower that had arrived at the OP, Reily's M40 had been silent for several minutes, keeping a watch on other sectors.

Things were going good for the time being, the Marine convoy had advanced up to within two hundred meters of the building without losing any vehicles, and the SEAL sniper fire had reduced the roof of the building to a dead zone. The M82s had slowed the rate at which they fired, now having to search the windows for targets to expose themselves. However there weren't many windows left after the M1 Abrams and LAVs began firing their main cannons at the building, quickly reducing it to rubble.

As the building collapsed, Green keyed his mic, "Good work boys, keep following that convoy and scan for targets on the rooftops."

Green then turned to Pierce, "Well Sergeant good work today, I think we have it covered here if you want to regroup with your unit."

As Green was speaking, a snap was heard to all on the fourth floor. The M82 clattered to the floor, causing everyone to look at the marksman next to Green. He was lying face down on the floor, blood pooling around his head.

"Sniper," Pierce and Green both shouted.

Reily, Pierce and Green both pushed themselves off the floor and rushed back in to the interior of the building and to cover.

As they ran towards cover, Green shouted into his mic, "Sniper contact left, you see anything from up top?"

However as Green ran towards cover away from Mac's body, he was struck in the back by another bullet fired from the hidden sniper mid-sentence. Blood spilled out of the wound as his body fell to the floor lifeless. Pierce, Reily and Barnes had all scrambled behind cover of several stacks of I-beams while Heffron ducked into the stairwell.

"Where the hell did that come from," Reily screamed as pushed up against the I-beams.

"No idea, did you see any flashes," Barnes yelled back.

The team continued shouting at each other as the confusion continued. Pierce was staying calm though, instead staring at Green's body as it lay on the floor, blood expanding ever further from the wound as it stained the concrete floor. Reily poked his head out from the I-beam cover and raised his M40 quickly trying to survey the area for the sniper's location. Pierce noticed Reily movement and quickly grabbed him by his vest and yanked him back behind the cover.

"The hell you think you're doing," he shouted, "The SEALs are looking for him so just sit your ass down."

Pierce wasn't just looking at Green's body, he was straining to listen to the earpiece that had fallen off his ear. The sound of the remaining SEALs was barely audible, but enough to hear. The SEAL snipers were constantly chatting trying to find the sniper's location.

"Just sit tight," Pierce said as he looked around at each member of his team, "Just sit tight for guys."

* * *

**So I got the idea for this after watching _Generation Kill_ the other weekend. If you've seen the show you might know what I'm kind of shooting for..maybe hah. I'm hoping that this story actually pans out and works. Timeline in the story right now compared to MW2, this chapter takes place before the nuke goes off over DC, they'll find out about it at a later point. The idea for this chapter came from watching _GK, The Hurt Locker, _and the opening sniper scene from _Shooter._**

**Thanks to Dante-SonofSparda for the helpful review and everyone that reads.**

**Please review!!!**


	4. Close to Home

The warm Southern California air blew through San Diego, carrying with it the smell of the Pacific Ocean that reached Pierce and the team as they lay behind cover in the partially constructed building. For ten minutes, they had been behind cover, avoiding the cross-hairs of a Russian sniper that had already killed two SEALs right in front of them. A floor above them, four additional SEALs desperately searched for the Russian that had killed two of their own.

"Jesus have they found him yet," Barnes complained as he banged his head against the I-beam he was lying behind; his helmet absorbing the blows against the steel.

"I could have found him five minutes ago," Reily said as he rolled his eyes to his left and looked at Pierce.

"He would have found your head the second you poked out," Pierce said looking rather annoyed.

"I think you could have gotten him Sean," Barnes said looking at Reily from behind the cover.

The team continued chatting, trying to keep their minds off the fact that they were pinned down by a sniper who obviously knew what he was doing. The earpiece hanging off of Green's body came alive and Pierce shouted at everyone to shut up so he could hear.

"I think we found him, grey building six-one-zero at our twelve," one voice said.

Another voice could be heard, "Which window, the second one?"

"Second, no the fourth from the right."

A moment later, a hiss was heard that came from the fifth floor. The explanation of the hiss quickly came over the radio.

"Christ he just shot Mark, he's got us zeroed in."

"Did that come from the fourth or second window?"

The SEAL snipers were in utter confusion as they lost another member of their team and were no where closer to narrowing down the sniper's exact location. The general location however had been identified by the SEALs, giving Pierce an idea as he grabbed his map and and did some quick distance calculations in his head.

"Tommy slide me the radio," Pierce said looking up from the map.

Barnes did as he was ordered and slid the radio set across the floor to Pierce. Pierce reached for the radio set and dragged it next to him. He grabbed the handset with his right hand while he held onto the map with his left, doing some quick calculations in his head.

Holding the handset to his mouth, he spoke, "Cujo Flight this is Saber Two-One how copy?"

Several seconds later, "Saber Two-One, this is Misfit Four, Cujo has RTB, over."

"Copy, Misfit, priority target, approximately six-zero-zero meters at zero-eight-seven degrees of our building, how copy?"

"I copy you Two-One, interrogative, what is this target exactly?"

"Target is grey building, fill it with lead Four."

"Roger that, we're inbound hot, Misfit Four out."

Pierce set the handset down and looked at his team, "Let's see if we can't blow this bastard to pieces."

The team waited behind the cover, and again, the sound of the rotor blades grew louder as a flight of SuperCobras blazed over the building towards the targeted building. Several seconds later, the sound of Hydra rockets exploding filled the air, followed quickly by dust as the grey building was reduced to rubble in a matter of seconds by the godly firepower of the SuperCobras.

Pierce raised his head and looked at Heffron who was in the stairwell, "Go upstairs and check if that was the building they had zeroed in."

"Oorah Sergeant," Heffron said as he began bounding up the steps to the fifth floor.

He returned a minute later walking out of the stairwell, "They say we're in the clear."

That was good enough for Pierce, who stood up from his cover and turned to survey the damage in the distance. He gauged the distance of the building that was now rubble to the two SEALs that lay on the floor in front of him.

"Not a bad shot," he mumbled as he looked into the distance.

Barnes and Reily checked the two bodies for any signs of life, even though they both knew the answer to their query. They dragged the bodies away from their current positions, towards the stairwell, their blood leaving streaks across the floor. Reily also retrieved the Barrett and checked to see if it was still operational. The blood from the marksman who had once used it now stained the black gun, dirtying the chamber and main components.

"Won't be using this anytime soon," Reily said as he placed the Barrett on the floor next to the two SEALs.

Looking around the floor, Pierce could see shell casings that littered the area from the once used positions; and the blood shown dark red against the concrete floor.

"Pack this shit up," Pierce said as he lifted his assault pack and slung it over his shoulders, "We're linking up with Saber Two."

The three Marines quickly went about retrieving the equipment that was on the floor. Reily placed the M40 back into the gun case that he attached to his pack while Barnes attached the radio to his pack. They were ready to move in two minutes. Barnes led them down the stairs, Pierce taking one last look at the floor, their home for the last three hours and the two SEAL snipers that lay dead. Pierce quickly cleared his head as he began bounding down the stairs with the rest of his team.

Minutes later, the team was back on the street regrouping with Bowren and the rest of Saber Two-One Bravo, who had been on the street level providing rear security while Pierce and the team were at the OP.

"So how'd it go," Bowren asked as Pierce was last to exit the building.

"Wouldn't even believe it if I told ya Chris," Pierce said as he passed Bowren, "Let's get a move on gents, Saber Two is waiting."

With that, the seven Marines followed their squad leader off down the road. As they followed the road, several AAVs passed them, loaded with additional Marines. The battle that initially started with one hundred and twenty Marine riflemen and light armor, had grown to an entire Marine battalion added to the mix as well as twelve M1 Abrams from 1st Tanks that had just arrived in San Diego and were thrown into the mix. As the squad moved east along the road, SuperCobras blazed over them firing rockets and 20 mm gatling guns at Russian positions as Marines advanced on all the points in the assault.

After advancing up the street three hundred meters, the squad finally regrouped with the rest of Saber Two, who were hunkered down in a blown-out store front.

"Eric," Burris said as the eight Marines entered the store, "Nice of you to finally join us."

"Got a little side tracked up there sir," Pierce said as he approached the lieutenant and team leaders who were circled around a metal table.

"Well you didn't miss much, but right now Scarface is pushing for a final assault so we're about ten mikes from kicking that off," Burris said as he highlighted the remaining Russian positions on the map.

As the team leaders looked at the map, three M1 Abrams rolled by the store followed by four LAV-25s. Pierce casually glanced up to see how many had passed. He had lost count of the number of armor units in the fight; they all looked the same after awhile.

"Are we spearheading this push sir," Pierce asked after examining the map and drawn arrows.

"No, Marines from RCT-One are leading with the heavy ass right behind them. We're on follow up duty, on guard for any stragglers. Now go get stocked up on ammo from that LAV," Burris said nodding towards an idling LAV across the street, "We're oscar mike in five."

With that, the meeting was ended and the team leaders returned to their men. Pierce motioned for his team to follow him as they moved across the street to the LAV. The rear hatch was open and inside, were dozens of boxes of ammunition and grenades. Reily stashed the M40 case inside the LAV and retrieved several magazines of M4 ammo. The entire team did the same, Pierce grabbing several additional 40 mm grenades and stuffing them into one of his pockets. The team had finished restocking their spent munitions by the time the platoon was on the move, advancing up the street half on one side the other half on the other.

* * *

When Pierce joined the Marines six years before, he didn't have wild dreams of saving the United States by himself, or becoming some super soldier that could defeat armies. No, he was just a nineteen year old kid who was drawn into service, which he thought would be mundane and not very eventful. He was soon thrust into a conflict that ended with thirty thousand American casualties, several of whom Pierce knew personally. Battling through the same dusty, blood-soaked streets as them, only to have them taken away in an instant, Pierce didn't know what to do; how to honor his friends or move on, he was lost at a very difficult time in his life.

At the conclusion of the conflict that has been called the Five Day War, MARSOC had lost a majority of it's force due to the nuclear blast and resulting engagements. Selections occurred throughout the country for current Marines and veterans of the conflict to replace the opened positions. Pierce and Barnes, two of the survivors from the Five Day War, decided this was a way to honor their dead in a way, and volunteered. After passing the Individual Training Courses, both Marines became MARSOC operators a year later. They had been together from that time since.

As the platoon advanced up the street, Pierce was reminded of the same situation five years before, except the dust covered streets of a desert country had been traded for the paved roads of modern America. Coming to an intersection, the platoon stopped and covered the angles on the street as they crossed as quickly as possible. A mere several hundred meters a head of them, the sounds of the battle could be heard, explosions echoing through the streets.

Restocking on ammo had been in vane; by the time Pierce and the rest of the platoon reached the leading elements of RCT-One, the fight for San Diego had finished. As the team emerged from the street onto an open field at the end of the peninsula, the carnage caused from the battle could be seen. Panning across the field, Pierce could see collapsed buildings fresh from the recent battle still smoldering, sending columns of black skyward. Further down in the distance, several LAVs were parked, with wounded Marines lying on the ground, being cared for by corpsmen and comrades. The bodies of Russians littered the landscape as black holes dotted the field, no doubt caused by Hydra rockets from the SuperCobras.

Pierce led his team towards the idling LAVs and Abrams, where the majority of the Marines in the area were congregated. Crossing the field of the dead was a horrific experience, the mangled bodies of Russians were across the ground, also Marines were lying dead too, a grim reminder of what it cost to take back this small section of the city.

The platoon entered the perimeter of the LAVs and were met by several ranking officers trying to organize the situation at hand. One major who had been given command of the battalion was trying to coordinate casevacs for the wounded when Burris approached him.

"Anything we can do to help here sir," Burris said as he approached the major.

Removing the handset from his ear, the major responded, "Not right now Lieutenant, can't even get North Island on the radio now, just sit back and wait for now."

The major turned and returned to his work coordinating with command as in the distance, a squad of Marines exited a building leading two Russian prisoners. The Russians were led to the major and a sergeant explained the situation.

Burris was in the middle of issuing the platoon orders when the major shouted to him over the roar of the LAV engines, "Lieutenant," he motioned for Burris to approach him, "Just captured this Russian major and captain, since you're not doing anything, you escort them back to North Island for interrogation."

"Yes sir," Burris nodded before turning back towards the platoon and shouting, "Pierce!"

Pierce hustled from the platoon to Burris who informed him of the situation. Rounding up the team, Pierce led the Marines and Russian prisoners from the perimeter towards an idling Humvee. However, before they could reach the Humvee, an Army Blackhawk landed on the field, kicking up a storm of dust that blinded the Marines. Debarking from the aircraft, were six men, clad in all black uniforms, even wearing full balaclavas in the California heat.

The six men rushed from the Blackhawk towards Pierce and his team who were caught off guard by the occurrence. One of the men shouted at Pierce, who was between the men in black and the Russian prisoners.

"We're here to take custody of the prisoners sergeant," he said sternly from behind the balaclava and combat goggles, his eyes the only part of him visible.

"On who's authority," Pierce questioned, not knowing what to do, yet hoping Burris or the major would appear and take control of the situation.

"You don't need to know that sergeant," the man replied agitated, "Now, turn over the prisoners."

Pierce glanced over to the LAVs where the major was, and was shocked to see two more of the black clad men conversing with him. The major appeared to fight the words, but eventually motioned at Pierce to relinquish the prisoners to the men.

Two men from the group moved towards them and grabbed the prisoners by the collars and pushed them towards the helicopter. They left without another word. After throwing the prisoners into the helicopter, the men quickly boarded the Blackhawk and were back in the air in seconds. Strangely, Pierce thought, the Blackhawk did not go north towards NAS North Island, yet east towards the city.

"You wanna tell me what the hell just happened Eric," Barnes asked as he approached Pierce's side watching the helicopter disappear into the skyline of the city.

"I have no fucking idea," Pierce said confused as he stood there in the open field, gripping his rifle.

After a moment, Pierce shook what just happened off and said as he turned to the team, "Let's get back to the platoon and get the hell out of this shit-hole."

The Marines agreed and they walked back towards the platoon, huddled around an LAV. The platoon joked around, and talked about the day and the close calls they had, and how they were glad to finally be done. Pierce knew, that this was far from being over as he stood in a small circle with the other team leaders. After several minutes of this, a loud bang was heard throughout the field. The sound which many thought was a truck backfiring turned out to be a gun shot when one of the Marines in the platoon fell to the ground.

"Get some cover," several of the men yelled as panic and confusion overcame the Marines.

Marines scattered everywhere as more shots rang out across the field. Pierce found cover behind the LAV along with Bowren and Reily. Marines were scattered elsewhere as they desperately sought cover.

"Where the hell is Tommy and Heff," Pierce shouted over the noise to Reily, who just shook his head.

The turret of an M1 Abrams that was nearby began shifting towards the south, and stopped as the barrel was fixated on a building at the edges of the field. The tank fired once, then again several seconds later. In moments, LAVs and Abrams were unloading their ordinance into the building as it quickly collapsed under the fire. It was over in a minute, five Marines now were lying on the ground, as Pierce shouted for Barnes and Heffron.

As Marines began appearing from behind cover, Barnes was soon found with several members of the platoon with him.

"Where the fuck is Heff," Pierce questioned.

"I thought he was with you guys," Barnes quickly said as he realized they were missing a man.

"Hey uh Eric," Reily said knocking Pierce's arm.

Pierce turned around to see a corpsman and several Marines over the body of the Marine in the platoon that fell. Pierce could see an M249 SAW lying on the ground next to the body as blood soaked into the ground.

"Jesus Christ," Pierce mumbled as he stood over Heffron's body; another friend had just been taken from him.

* * *

**Okay so I know it has been awhile since an update and this may not be the best one you've read, but just forgive me for that lol. But now, San Diego is finally over so we can take the fight back to Russia!**

**Thanks for reading everyone, please comment and tell me what you think, it would be greatly appreciated everyone!**


	5. Normal Day at the Office

_Three weeks after Battle of San Diego_

Bullets snapped at the ground and through the air as Pierce and his team buried themselves behind the trench wall. The screeching sound of RPGs roared over their position, the constant sound of shouts and gunfire lingering in the morning air.

"Fuck me," Barnes shouted as a nearby explosion from an RPG sent him to his back, showering his body with dirt.

"Quit your bitching and keep shooting Tommy," Pierce snapped at Barnes in between two bursts from his M4.

After shouting at him, Pierce ignored Barnes who was on his back in the trench and focused on firing. The recently promoted staff sergeant looked as though he should be in one of those big budget Hollywood action movies. Standing in the trench, leaning his 6'4" frame against the wall, while taking aim at the advancing Russian forces, Pierce looked invincible. The difference however between Pierce and the movie stars was that this was real. Real bullets were zipping across the battlefield, each one potentially deadly as they raced downrange. Real sweat that drenched Pierce's short brown hair underneath his helmet. Real dirt that was cemented against his face, mixed with his own sweat and the real blood of his fellow Marines; there was nothing fake about this. However with all the confusion and chaos that was happening around him, Pierce kept his cool, and focused on his mission, which was to hold this position.

As Barnes gazed up through the smoke at his team leader firing, a thought crossed his mind that was as random as could be at a time such as this. Barnes wished that he had a camera on him so that he could quickly take a picture of Pierce. Something about Pierce at that moment was awe-inspiring, which reminded Barnes of a picture taken eighty years or so ago on an island in the middle of the Pacific that was still pretty awe-inspiring to this day. Barnes figured that if he had a picture of Pierce; a filth-ridden battle hardened Marine firing at Russians through a thin smoke haze, that he might be able to trade that picture to a certain female CNN reporter for a; well, it would be a hell of a trade for Barnes and the reporter probably wouldn't mind winning a Pulitzer Prize for Photography. But this was all just a quick thought that Barnes had and was gone in a matter of seconds.

"Tommy get your ass on the line _now_," Pierce shouted as he ducked behind the trench wall and slid a new magazine into his rifle.

Barnes looked around and realized that he was the only one still lying on the muddy ground. His momentary day dream made him look like an ass in front of the team, but more importantly, took one more Marine rifle off of the line fighting against the Russians.

Barnes quickly scrambled to his feet and rested his M4 against the trench as he added his worth to the gun battle. Through the grey haze, he spotted three Russians darting forward a hundred meters away. Aimed fire from both Barnes and Pierce downed the Russians in seconds, but as they fell, dozens of Russians appeared from the woods. Crashing through the tree-line also appeared a Russian BTR, it's deadly auto cannon traversing the area spilling hot lead from the barrel onto the Marine positions.

"Two-One Bravo, be advised, enemy APC two hundred meters at your one o'clock," Pierce shouted as he keyed the LASH headset.

Fifty meters to the left of Pierce also hunkered inside the trench, was Sergeant Bowren and his four man team. After finding the enemy APC which was sitting on the edge of the woods firing it's cannon at the Marines below, one of the lance corporals on the team retrieved the Javelin missile system. The man portable launcher was even lighter and more deadly in it's Mark II form, and that lethality was about to be put to use. After receiving a good tone from the system, the lance corporal fired and the warhead soared into the air in an arcing flight that took it straight into the turret of the BTR. The resulting fireball lit the early morning sky as shards of the BTR were sent in all directions. No sooner had the smoke trail of the Javelin disappeared, that a dozen RPG's and small arm rounds cascaded into Two-One Bravo's position.

"Good shit Chris," Pierce shouted approvingly of the wreckage burning in front of him.

It seemed that for every Russian killed, two more appeared from the surrounding woods. Unfortunately, this was not the case for the two Marine companies that were under fire. There were no reinforcements to replace the Marines that were killed today.

After what was only several minutes since the destruction of the BTR, but what seemed an eternity for the Marines, Pierce noticed that they were running low on ammunition. This added to the fact that the Russians were slowly, but steadily advancing on their position gave Pierce a cause for concern.

"Saber Two, Two-One, how copy?"

After several seconds, a reply was heard, "Solid copy Two-One, send it."

"Things are getting pretty hairy down here," an RPG streaked over the trench and exploded behind the team showering them in dirt, "We're getting low on ammo and the Russians are taking ground, over."

"Roger that Two-One, wait one over," after thirty seconds, Saber Two came back, "Two-One, Two, still with us, over?"

"Roger that, what's the SITREP, over?"

"Saber has ordered all elements to fall back into the compound, regroup and consolidate on our position ASAP, Two out."

Pierce motioned for the three Marines to get close, "Saber wants us to fall back, use the trenches for cover," Pierce said looking at each Marine, "Tommy, Sean, you're up."

The two Marines darted off down the trench back into the compound. After traveling twenty meters, the two stopped, turned, and provided cover for the other two, as the four Marines bounded quickly back to the compound. As this was happening, a net call went out to the entire company recalling the Marines from their positions in the trenches.

As Pierce roadie ran through the trenches, keeping his head down and out of the line of enemy fire, he heard a warning of an enemy tank through his headset. He ignored this warning and kept running. As he found a good firing position in the trench, he turned to cover Barnes and Reily as they moved to regroup with him. Out of the corner of his eye, Pierce noticed the hulking form of a Russian T-Something main battle tank several hundred meters away. At the same moment Pierce saw the tank, a large flash emanated from the tank's barrel.

A shell from the tank streaked from the barrel and into the control tower that towered over the compound. Debris, glass, and concrete were all pushed outward as the shell exploded on impact, collapsing the top portion of the tower in a giant bloom of fire that lit the sky.

As Barnes raced past Pierce, he dropped behind the trench next to the staff sergeant, "Shit, didn't Alpha have guys up there."

It was true, the Marine force had just lost more men that were sorely needed as the Russian onslaught advanced on them now with armor support. Pierce and the team hustled back into the compound interior and met with Two-One Bravo and the rest of Saber Two; at least, the Marines of Saber Two that made it through the fight so far.

* * *

**Okay so I know it's been over a month since an update but I had a serious case of writer block as to where I wanted to go with this. This is just a short little preview I worked up on a plane ride back from Cancun so expect a fairly long chapter to come soon explaining how our favorite Marines got in this sticky situation.**

**Any comments or advice would be appreciated, you can even yell at me for taking so long for an update hah.**

**Thanks again everyone**


	6. Silent Insertion

The MV-22B Osprey thundered across the Sea of Japan at only fifty meters above the crashing ocean waves. The dull grey hull of the Osprey was illuminated by each strike of lightening that lit the vast ocean area. The noise created by the two giant nacelles that powered the Osprey were almost muted as the storm ravaged the entire sea. The ride was bumpier than anyone may have liked, but having the storm to cover their approach helped calm everyone's nerves knowing the giant Osprey was flying almost silently in the storm.

As the eight Ospreys raced towards the Russian coast at two-hundred and fifty knots, Pierce, situated in the cargo bay of the craft was deep in thought. Even with the ear-buds in his ears, the drone of the nacelles mixed with the rushing wind and rain created a cacophony of noise. Still, he tried to tune this out and instead, focused on running through the mission plan in his head; he was on his seventh run through.

Pierce was envisioning the approach to the airfield and which buildings his team was assigned with neutralizing, when his eyes shot open after he was hit on the shoulder. He groggily blinked several times as he adjusted to the red lighted interior and looked to his right, where Barnes was sitting. _What_, Pierce mouthed as he looked at the corporal.

Barnes leaned in and shouted into Pierce's ear, "You got any Fuel?"

That question caused Pierce to roll his eyes in disgust, "You woke me up for that?"

"Yeah, come on man, just a few to keep me awake in this damned bird," Barnes begged.

"Goddamn it," Pierce grumbled as he reached underneath the red cargo netting seat to his bag. After retrieving a small bottle, he shook out several small capsules and handed them to Barnes, "No more of this shit till after the op."

"Thanks Eric," Barnes said with a huge grin before he swallowed the pills.

Pierce put the bottle back into the bag and slid it underneath the netting before closing his eyes and returning to his thoughts. Instead of focusing on the mission, he now thought about how wired Barnes was going to be since taking that damn Ripped Fuel. If Pierce hadn't confiscated the bottle from him back in Japan, Barnes would be going through a bottle and a half each day. No one wanted that, especially not Pierce who was going to have to deal with the hyped up corporal talking his ear off. Pierce reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a black iPod which he spun his thumb along the wheel, turning the volume all the way up, which didn't seem like much due to the other noises surrounding him. The last thing Pierce remembered was a song from the Eagles of Death Metal playing before he was asleep.

An hour later, Pierce was awoken by movement around the cargo bay. The Marines of 2nd Platoon were rising from their seats and grabbing gear and equipment that they had stashed. Pierce reached and grabbed his bag which he slid out onto the metal floor of the Osprey. He unclipped his M4 carbine from the strap and slung it over his shoulder before heaving the bag onto his back. Throughout the bay of the Osprey, the other Marines were going through the same motions. Each looked like a stone cold trained killer, which is exactly what they were, the red lighting only added to the eerie effect. The ramp began to lower, blowing in a mist of water that showered the men. Zodiac boats were pushed out of the ramp by the crew chiefs, falling several meters into the ocean below. Marines began walking towards the ramp in two lines, at the end taking a plunge into the Russian water below them. Pierce felt sorry for the Russians they were about to go visit, they were about to be taught a hard lesson about not screwing with the U.S. and that lesson was going to be dealt swiftly by two companies of MARSOC operators.

* * *

The sounds of twigs snapping had become a constant noise, even though Pierce tried to avoid it at all costs. The forest floor was ripe with sticks, leaves, anything that could make a noise, was on the ground waiting for the Marines to step on and give away their position in the darkness. Barnes led the team forward through the forest, aided by a set of night vision goggles that each member had. The off-shade green created an eerie feel as they quietly traversed the lifeless forest.

Throughout the surrounding area, other squads were advancing on parallel axis that would take them straight to the Russian airfield. The squads, if everything continued as planned, should be at the airfield perimeter within twenty minutes. The one good news, was that the storm which had hampered them on the flight in, was catching up to the Marines on the land, the rain beginning to slowly drop down from the sky. But before the main part of the storm engulfed the region in a downpour that was predicted, a sharp noise quickly echoed through the forest. A noise that was the last thing that Pierce wanted to hear. A single loud snap echoed through the forest, stopping the Marines dead in their tracks. Pierce quickly moved the several meters to Barnes' side and the two crouched.

"The fuck was that Tommy," Pierce snapped in a low voice, assuming that Barnes had given away the squad's position.

"Um, that wasn't me big guy," Barnes replied as he scanned in front of him.

The response spooked Pierce, who thought the noise had come from Barnes being careless. Pierce raised his left hand in the air, made a fist, then waved his hand side to side, signaling to the Marines behind him to spread out in a line formation. The Marines quietly moved into a wedge formation and began searching in front of them for the source of the noise.

Desperately searching the woods for movement in the dimly lit green landscape, Pierce finally saw some motion in the distance. He raised his M4 and looked down the scope, spotting to his horror four Russian soldiers walking through the woods on a path that would take them just in front of Pierce and his men.

Pierce turned to his left and looked down the row of Marines to Bowren, who had appeared several meters away. Pierce raised his left hand and four fingers rose into the air, covered by the black gloves he wore. Pierce could see Bowren acknowledge his message, the NVG set Bowren wore moved up and down. The message was quickly and silently passed along the line of Marines and they were ready as the Russians approached them.

Pierce drew his sight on the lead Russian, a portly man with what looked to be a rugged beard. He was wearing a ushanka, one of the famous Russian fur hats, and was gripping what looked to be an AK-74 or some variant of the ever deadly weapon. The Russian had a cigarette in his mouth, the puffs of smoke visible through the night vision. As the group of Russians passed a final grouping of trees, they came into a clearing which was ten meters in front of the Marines. Pierce took a deep breath, steadied his body, and fired.

The M4 coughed out three rounds, the gunshots suppressed by a silencer that was attached to the end of the barrel. The three rounds caught the Russian in the cheek and neck, sending him spinning to the ground as blood puffed into the air. The sudden shock of seeing their comrade fall caused the remaining Russians to pause their movements for a second; this pause proved fatal as fire from the other Marine guns hit their targets. All four Russians were lying dead on the ground in less than five seconds from the first shot. Pierce waved his arm forward, sending Bowren and his fireteam towards the dead Russians to search their bodies.

"Well that was close," Barnes whispered to Pierce.

"Damn right it was," Pierce said angrily, "Thought that Ripped Fuel was suppose to keep you alert and shit."

"Dude, don't blame the Fuel," Barnes said flipping his head to his left to see the green impression of Pierce's face, "Those guys were ninjas sneaking up here like that."

"Well those 'ninjas' could have whacked us if we kept following your retarded ass."

Reily appeared at Pierce's side, hearing the conversation between the two and deciding to join and voice his opinion, "Looks like someone's a little cranky this morning."

"That's what I'm saying," Barnes pleaded with a smirk, "If you need to go have a CJ before we hit the airfield to calm the nerves, just let us know, we can spare thirty seconds."

The three Marines all laughed, letting off a massive amount of tension that had been building inside each one of them and maxed with this short ambush. Pierce radioed Saber Two that they had made contact with Russian forces, the engagement was noted by Burris. Bowren waved at the team after several minutes and the squad continued moving forward towards the airfield, the storm now coming into full force as a wall of rain began to blanket the area, soaking the team who were almost dry from their insertion into the sea hours before.


	7. Ninjas

**A/N Hey everyone, please Review/Comment this story. I want to know what you guys think about it, positive or negative, just throw it out there.**

* * *

"RPG," Barnes yelled as he dove towards Pierce, tackling the staff sergeant to the ground as an RPG buzzed by the squad.

The resulting explosion showered the Marines in dust as the tarmac on the runway was shattered from the blast. Gunfire cracked over their heads as they scrambled behind the cover of fifty-five gallon drums and several crates that were stacked next to the hangar.

"Thanks Tommy," Pierce said as he pushed the corporal off of him, "But that's all you're getting from me this trip."

The two Marines peered over the crates and found the source of the RPG a mere fifty meters away. Pierce drew a bead on the Russian as he tried to race behind whatever cover remained in the charred landscape surrounding the airfield. Pierce quickly pulled the trigger twice, sending two 5.56 mm rounds downrange that struck the Russian, sending him toppling over into the ground. Pierce fired an additional round into the Russian's chest for good measure before he ducked behind the crate as Russians returned fire at the Marines.

"Saber Two, Two-One, we're being pushed back," Pierce calmly said into the LASH headset, "Russians inside the perimeter, how copy?"

The reply that came through the headset was accompanied by sounds of gunfire from Saber Two's position, "Two copies, hold 'em off Two-One, CAS should be in the sky any minute, out."

"Roger that, Two-One out," Pierce said before he looked around at the Marines firing around him and shouted to them, "Push Ivan back boys, air support should be here any minute."

With that, Pierce leaned up over the crate and found more Russian targets as he emptied the last several rounds of his magazine. Before he ducked back down behind the cover, he saw another BTR appear over a hill a hundred meters away with additional Russian infantry advancing alongside it.

Before he could opened his mouth, Bowren already was shouting at his team, "Take that bitch out," the Texan yelled.

One of the lance corporals quickly loosened an 84 mm HEAT round from an AT4, the rocket penetrating the armor of the BTR like a knife through butter, sending a fireball skyward and knocking the Russians around the BTR to the ground. The burning carcass of the BTR continued to roll forward down the hill towards the tarmac, causing Russians caught in it's path to dive out of the way or risk being crushed by a fiery beast.

This small victory was quickly cut short by the cry of one of Bowren's men. A round struck the lance corporal in the collar bone, severing an artery, sending him to the grey tarmac, staining it red with his blood that was pouring out of the wound. One of the Marines next to him quickly dropped down to assist his teammate, but was also struck by a round from the Russian guns.

"Sean pull him back here," Pierce shouted as he saw the carnage that unfolded in front of his eyes.

Reily worked his way to the second Marine that had been hit and dragged him from the line of fire back behind better cover. The first Marine struck in the collar bone had already died from a mass blood loss, the evidence pooling around his body after each second that passed.

"We gotta CASEVAC him now Eric," Reily shouted to Pierce after tearing off the wounded Marines armor to see the entrance wound.

What Reily didn't say, was that the Marine needed to be evacuated or else he was going to die. The trouble was, there was no way to CASEVAC him, and this was certainly not the place to perform a surgery even if they had the necessary supplies. The brutal truth, was that the squad had just lost two men in the matter of seconds.

* * *

**_Seven hours prior_**

"Two this is Two-One, we are in position on the perimeter, over," Pierce said as the squad had finally reached their destination.

"Copy Two-One, proceed on mission, out."

"Two-One copies," Pierce said before turning to Barnes, "Tommy clip it."

From the wooded area that the squad was lying, Barnes rose up from the muddy ground and hustled to the chain link fence that separated the squad from the airfield. Removing a set of wire-cutters from his bag as he ran, Barnes began the task of clipping the fence to allow the two teams to silently slip into the airfield. He hoped there were no security features on the wire, but from what they had observed, the fence was the only thing blocking them.

Pierce watched Barnes clip the fence that was ten meters in front of the other Marines. His figure barely visible through the night vision, obstructed by the torrential rain that had begun falling across the region. The Marines remained almost invisible as they laid on the muddy, soaking ground, only appearing for a brief moment as lightening stuck every so often. Pierce remained still as Barnes cut the wire, the water running off his helmet and NVG set to the ground.

After about ninety seconds, the fence was cut, and Barnes was the first to slip into the airfield. Pierce waved his arm forward signaling to the six other Marines with him to move forward to the slip in the fence. Throughout the airfield's perimeter, over fifteen other squads of Marines were going through the same procession of infiltrating the airfields fence protection. After Pierce worked his way through the fence, he was forced to look up to work his bag through the opening, and was able to see the faint lights of the control tower in the distance as well as several other floodlights that illuminated the tarmac and the silhouettes of the Su-35 fighters that were the target of this raid.

"Let's move, let's move," Pierce urged as Bowren, the last man, made it through the slip in the fence.

The eight Marines split into their two teams as they began advancing across the airfield, crossing over one of the two runways that lined the base. Only several landing lights were on when they crossed, due to no aircraft currently in the air at 3:00 am in one of the worst storms to hit the area in the past five months. After crossing the first runway, Pierce stopped the squad in a ditch that was between the two runways. The ditch was a low spot in a seventy meter split that separated the runways, one of them running parallel to the hangars and control tower and the second, which they had crossed, running at a sixty degree angle from the first, forming a sort of Vee shape.

As the Marines waited on the ground, Pierce could see their targeted building, a blockhouse that was located in the runway split the squad was in. This building was allegedly the fuel pumping station for the airfield, which seemed plausible because of the pipes that ran out of the building.

"Two, Two-One, we are in position, waiting final go from Saber, copy?"

"Copy that Two-One," Pierce knew that on the other side of the building, a squad being led by Burris were waiting for the go orders from Saber Actual to begin the assault.

So they waited in the cold rain for five gut wrenching minutes, always on the lookout for that one Russian that would appear from no where and alert the entire base to their presence. When the go code was finally passed down, Pierce and the team exploded up from their position and began advancing on the two story building that sat between both runways. Sixteen Marines were assaulting this building alone, which only had seven Russians occupying it, five of which were fast asleep in their bunks on the second floor.

The Marines stacked up on the door that would lead them into the building. Barnes was the first one next to the door, waiting for Pierce to give the command to breach.

"Two, we're in position," Pierce whispered keying the LASH headset as he poked his head up and glanced into the window.

On the inside of the building, Pierce could see a dimly lit room, with several lights illuminating the ground floor. Two Russians were sitting at a table in the opposite corner of the door and were huddled around a small television screen. No other activity was happening in the room as Pierce quickly surveyed the interior.

"Two in the far corner," Pierce whispered in Barnes ear as he ducked beneath the window.

"I hear ya," Barnes acknowledged, moving his head slightly back.

Over the headset came Saber Two, "We're in position, killing power in, three, two, one."

With that, the lights that shown out the window above Pierce's head was immediately killed as the building went dark. Pierce smacked Barnes' right shoulder which sent the corporal into action. Barnes pushed himself up from his crouched position next to the door quickly yanked the handle down, and whipped the door outwards in the other direction before getting out of the frame of the door.

As Barnes swung the door open, Pierce was already on his feet rushing into the opening. His night vision goggles aided him in the now darkened building. Spotting the spot where the two Russians were, he quickly fired at them as he moved left once he was through the door, allowing Reily and the remaining members of the squad to enter the building.

The first Russian was struck by rounds from Pierce's M4 as he was pushing himself out of the seat that was behind the desk. The round struck him in his chest, and that was quickly followed by an additional several rounds that tore into his unprotected chest and neck. Blood from exit wounds splattered the wall behind him but weren't visible in the darkness. The second Russian was caught by bullets from both Pierce and Reily as he tried to reach for his AK-74 that was laying on the desk in front of him. His body slumped forward and he died lying over his weapon, blood staining the metal barrel.

This entire encounter was over without making any loud noises, as the Marine weapons were tipped with sound suppressors and the Russians weren't even able to shout for help before they were cut down in a hail of fire. The remaining Marines from the squad entered the building before the last cartridges had finished rattling on the cement floor.

"Clear," Pierce whispered to the Marines.

"Clear here," Reily announced as he finished scanning the room.

Pierce released his hold of the M4 and raised his left hand to key the LASH, "Two bottom floor is cleared, we are moving upstairs, copy?"

From outside the building, the other squad was covering the area around the building, incase of any Russians trying to escape or any coming to assist their comrades.

"Two-One, Two copies," Burris said over the radio, "All quiet out here, make it quick, we got other objectives to move on."

"Two-One copies, be with you in a moment," Pierce finished before pointing towards the stairwell that led to the upper floor.

The Marines moved towards the stairwell and began to quietly creep up them, not knowing what lie ahead and not wanting to announce their presence to any waiting Russians. They moved up the steps in a set formation, staggered lines on each sides of the stairwell, thus exposing only one man to fire from either side at a time.

Barnes led the squad up the stairs quietly, watching his footing as he silently crept up the stairs. He could hear no movement or noise coming from his front, which he couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing. Barnes saw the end of the stairwell mere meters in front of him, and took a gulp as he prepared for anything.

The second floor of the building was nothing more than several cots and lockers that were used by the men who operated the facility. The five Russians who were on the second floor were all fast asleep, oblivious to the fact that their comrades below them had been cut down moments before in a hail of gunfire.

The room was momentarily lit up by lightening that struck near the facility. With this momentary light, the silhouettes of the Marines could be seen as they silently moved about the room. One Marine moved to each cot that held a sleeping Russian. On Pierce's signal, the silence was broken by shouts from the Marines and the rustling of the Marines grabbing the Russians from their beds.

Even though the Marines were professional killers, they could not bring themselves to murder these Russians in cold blood as they slept, even though that would have been the easiest option. So this alternative was chosen as a way to keep them alive as prisoners.

The Marine shouts woke the Russians from their sleep, only to be greeted by Marines grabbing them from their dreams of women, money, whatever else Russians dream of. Reily was responsible for one of these Russians, and he grabbed the Russian by his shirt and head as he tried to force him from his bed to the floor.

As Reily rustled the Russian up, it quickly became clear that the Russian was several inches taller, and quite a few pounds heavier than the Marine. As Reily got the Russian to his feet, his element of surprise was lost as the Russian fought back, waving Reily's arms off of his shirt, knocking the lance corporal's balance off. This moment of off balance was quickly followed by a loud grunt and two handed push of the Russian that knocked Reily backwards, tripping over one of the footlockers that lie in front of each cot.

This scuffle did not go unnoticed by Pierce and the two other Marines that were not wrestling Russians, instead covering the floor. After hearing the grunt of the Russian, Pierce's vision flashed to where it came from, and he saw Reily being knocked over onto the floor.

Pierce saw the Russian turn to face the other Marines that were in various positions of subduing Russians. Through the night vision optics that Pierce wore, he could see the Russian's face as he turned to reach for a rifle that was near him. Pierce stopped him dead, literally, as he fired his own rifle at the Russian.

Three rounds were fired from Pierce's M4 after he pulled the trigger three times as quickly as he could. The rounds struck the Russian center mass in his chest, red circles becoming visible on his white shirt. The large Russian was sent spinning backwards as he fell dead over an empty cot next to him. Reily stared as the man was killed just inches from him.

Seeing their comrade killed before their eyes gave all the remaining Russians the incentive to stop all resistance to the Marines wrestling them to the ground. Pierce walked from his position next to the stairwell across to Reily who was on the floor still, extending his hand to help the Marine to his feet. The four surviving were easily subdued with flex cuffs within thirty seconds after their friend was shot dead.

"Next time Reily," Pierce said as he pulled the Marine to his feet, "Try and pick a guy that's smaller than you."

Reily pushed the night vision goggles back over his face as he said, "Easier for you to say, you big gooney bastard."

"Just trying to keep you alive kid," Pierce said smiling before turning to the rest of the Marines in the room, who were standing over the Russians awaiting orders.

"What the hell are you dip-shits waiting around for, get back downstairs and linkup with Saber Two, we're not done."

The Marines all snickered as they began moving down the stairs to the main floor. Pierce was known for the distinct way that he dealt with the men under him, it was what separated him from the other NCOs. He wouldn't hesitate at making you feel like a pile of shit in front of others, but would trust you with his life, and make sure that each man he went in with, came out with him. This was why Pierce was one of the most revered team leaders in the company, if not the entire battalion.

One of the Marines in the squad hadn't yet adjusted to Pierce's ways, Lance Corporal Josh Eckers. Eckers had transfered into the team after San Diego, as Heffron's replacement on the M249. Luckily for Pierce, he was not given a boot straight out of Parris Island, Eckers had fought in Washington D.C. with elements of the 3rd Marine Special Operations Battalion. As Bravo was being shipped to Japan a week before this night, Eckers had joined Two-One.

Pierce was the last to leave the building and enter the rainstorm that was drenching the area. He turned left out of the door they had just recently broken into and went to where Burris was hunkered down.

"Four tangos bagged, three put down," Pierce said as he went prone next to Burris, who was lying just off of the runway in the ditch.

"Good work Eric," Burris said approvingly before switching subjects onto their next objective, "Right now we have Alpha moving in from the north," he pointed to the left towards the control tower and adjacent buildings, "1st and 3rd Platoons are coming in from the south and taking those hangars there, then moving onto the barracks in between the two."

"And we're charging right up the middle," Pierce said dryly.

Burris chuckled, "Exactly right, we're to disable those fighters sitting on the tarmac, then linkup with the rest of Bravo, you still have the charges?"

Pierce turned down the ditch and found Barnes, "Tommy, you still have the C4?"

"What the hell do you think is in this giant bag I've been humpin' around all night Eric."

Pierce smiled as he turned back to Burris, "Yeah, we've got the charges ready."

"Good, because," Burris paused as he looked at his watch, "We're on now."


	8. Morning Surprise

**PLEASE REVIEW/FAV/RATE**

* * *

The sixteen Marines darted from their position in the ditch across the main runway. With each footstep forward, the likelihood that they were to be spotted increased exponentially; risks of the job Pierce reasoned as he ran.

Pierce's boots smacked against the tarmac, splashing the rain water that was pooling everywhere. As they approached the hangars and the fighters, the night vision goggles began to flare and their vision was obstructed by the floodlights that hung off of the hangars roof.

He raised his left hand and flipped the NVG optics up on the hinge that was on the front of his helmet. The cold water that fell from the sky hit his face for the first time in hours, a cool change that was welcomed as the water ran down his forehead to the tip of his nose.

The Marines kept running forward, speed was their best friend here, and they planned to be in and out before the Russians knew it. The shapes of four Russian Su-35 fighters could be seen, tarps covering each aircraft, offering protection from the harsh environment.

As the squad closed the distance to the fighters, the tarmac around the aircraft was lit up more than a Christmas tree at the Griswolds. They would have to move extra quick. Pierce and Barnes broke off from the squad and ran to the fighter that was farthest north. Reily and Eckers went to the aircraft next to them, while Bowren's team broke off into their own two-man teams and went to the remaining aircraft.

Pierce came to a halt near the nose of the fighter, instinctively he crouched and began scanning the area north where the control tower and other buildings were. As Pierce was scanning their surroundings, Barnes already had a C4 charge in his hand. The Marine quickly flicked the transmitter on the C4 charge before he slammed the block against the nose of the Su-35 underneath the canopy. The resulting explosion from the C4 would cripple the fighter, and make sure it would not be in the air anytime soon. The other three teams of Marines were also doing the same procedure as they completed their objective.

"Done," Barnes said as he attached the C4 charge to the aircraft.

"Good, we're moving," Pierce replied as he forced himself up from the crouch and turned towards their next objective.

As soon as their work was done, the Marines again raced from their position on the tarmac towards one of the hangars that was sandwiched between two buildings. The other squad led by Burris was moving across the tarmac with them as they advanced on the hangar from two different angles.

The hangar doors were shut closed, but through the glass at the top of the doors, Pierce could vaguely see several lights on. He motioned to the squad to move towards the right side of the hangar, where an auxiliary door was that would grant the squad access to the inside. Burris led his squad to the left side of the hangar in preparation for the assault. The two squads were lit up on the tarmac for a minute and twenty seconds, but luckily, no alarms could be heard from any building.

"Two we're in position," Pierce reported as the eight Marines had stacked against the door that was located on the side of the hangar.

"Two copies," Burris replied, "Hit it."

With the command, Pierce, who was third in the line, hit Reily's left shoulder, who then instantly smacked Barnes' shoulder. Again, the corporal sprung into action as he ripped open the door and allowed his fellow Marines to breach the hangar.

The hangar was dimly lit, with only several lights hanging from the ceiling that were on, shadows were casted all over the hangar. The large interior housed eight of the Su-35 fighters, each neatly parked in a single line. Also spread throughout the hangar were several offices and near those offices, were three dozen cots, each occupied by a member of the sleeping Russian aircrews.

Reily was first through the door, taking one step in before turning to his right and continuing forward down the wall. He was followed closely by Pierce and then the remainder of the squad. They moved silently as they entered the hangar and found the nearest cover. Pierce and Reily ducked behind a tool stand while the rest of the squad found other decent cover.

Barnes was the last through the door, and as he stepped through, gunshots rang out in the air. Pierce turned towards Barnes, expecting his corporal to be on the floor bleeding out, but instead found him still standing and in the process of ducking behind an empty fifty-five gallon drum.

The gunshots had come from a different location, but now, they were compromised as one of the Russians, a single sentry that was above the offices on a catwalk spotted the Marines. He shouted in Russian as he raised his rifle and began firing wildly towards the squad.

The shout combined with the abrupt sounds of automatic gunfire woke the sleeping Russians as confusion filled the hangar.

"Shit," Pierce exclaimed, ducking behind the tool stand as Russian rounds ricocheted off the stand and the ground around him, "Take 'em all out."

The thirty sleeping Russians had quickly become thirty armed Russians as they grabbed whatever weapons were around them and began shooting at the two Marine squads that were attacking them from both directions. The single sentry that was on the catwalk was quickly taken out by a burst of M249 fire from Eckers, his shots adding to the echoing that rang out throughout the vast hangar.

Pierce leaned out from the cover and aimed towards the Russians that were still bustling around the cots; either looking for weapons, cover, or Marine targets. He placed his sights across the chest of one of the Russians who was wearing a grey overall, one of the pilots Pierce figured, and fired two rounds at him. The bullets tore through the clothing and struck flesh and organs as his kidney was disintegrated by the rounds. The Russian fell to the ground shrieking out in pain.

The Marines shouted as they sought to find better cover positions and angles that would lead them to the Russians. Across the great hangar, Burris and his squad were under the same fire as they attempted to neutralize the hostile Russians.

"Frag out," Barnes yelled as he threw a grenade towards the Russians.

Several seconds later an explosion rocked the hangar as a number of Russians were killed by the blast the send cots and debris flying in all directions.

"Bowren take your team right," Pierce shouted as he looked back at the Marines and pointed towards cover that was farther down near the wall and would provide better fire on the Russians. Pierce turned and leaned back out of the cover and fired another volley of rounds at the Russians as he shouted, "Go now, go!"

The Marine fire team bolted from their cover towards the new position as Pierce's team fired a volley of rounds that either killed those Russians still poking out from cover, or sent the rest behind whatever they could find.

Bowren bolted forward, the former college fullback was a wall of a man when he moved, but he was quick on his feet, which allowed him to traverse the distance quickly. When Bowren was several meters from the cover, he slid forward, allowing his momentum to carry him into the safety of the cover. Rounds from Russian AK-74s, PKMs, and MP-443s ricocheted off of the hangar wall and floor, amazingly, not striking any of the Marines in the squad.

"Bowren you good," Pierce questioned over the gunfire.

"Yeah we're all in one piece," Bowren shouted back after accounting for all his men that made it to the cover.

"Alright, get ready to lay some fire down on my go," Pierce shouted as he prepared himself to lean out of the cover, "Now!"

The eight Marines fired towards the Russians as one, and several more of the hostiles were cut down in a wall of lead. Pierce poked out of the cover and loosened a 40 mm grenade that exploded next to several Russian airmen, turning the air into a pink and grey mist. The noise that echoed through the hangar made the entire situation all the more confusing, as automatic fire, screams and shouts filled the Marines' ears.

"Watch your fire left," Pierce shouted after he fired the grenade, "Friendlies moving up."

Burris was leading his squad towards the remaining Russians, alternating between firing and dashing forward several meters. The Russian force was down to only a handful of men, and quickly, Burris and his squad had overtaken their position. One of the Marines was hit in the jaw by a Russian round as they advanced and his body laid in a heap on the floor, but this was the only casualty the Marines suffered and compared to the Russians, who were counted as twenty-six dead and two wounded, the Marines made out pretty well.

As the final two Russians were put out of their misery, Pierce and his squad secured the offices in case of any additional Russians that may appear.

"We're all clear here Skipper," Pierce reported as he emerged from the offices and approached Burris who was standing over the Russian bodies.

"Good work sergeant," Burris acknowledged before he keyed his own headset, "Saber this is Saber Two how copy?"

"Saber Two, this is Saber Actual, send it."

"Saber we were just in hard contact with the enemy, most likely they know we're here, how do you want us to proceed, over."

"Copy that Two, we're in contact right now, proceed on next objectives riki-tik," before Burris could speak, the company commander continued, "ROE change, weapons free, all Russians designated hostile."

"Two copies all, we're oscar-mike," Burris said before turning to the two squads before him, "Get those charges planted now."

Several Marines acknowledged the order and took off to plant the C4 charges on the fighters that were idling in the hangar. Burris walked from where he was over to Pierce and the men of Two-One.

"Eric," Burris started as he passed Pierce, who turned and followed the lieutenant away from the other Marines, "Cat's outta the bag, Ivan heard that shit and the base is probably gonna be on full alert in minutes."

"So what do you want us to do Skipper," Pierce inquired as the two Marines stopped near one of the offices, several Russians were lying on the floor around them pooling blood at their feet.

"Take your teams and head on to the next objective, we'll finish placing charges here and then blow these pieces of shit sky high."

"Copy that sir," Pierce noticed the body of the dead Marine in the distance behind Burris, "What are we doing about," Pierce didn't need to say his name.

"Can't hump him out now, still got objectives to move on, we'll come back for him once we're heading to the extraction site."

The two Marines began walking back towards the others who were busy policing the weapons off of the dead Russians and planting the charges. Pierce gathered his squad and they began walking out of the hangar towards the next objective.

Turning back to Burris, Pierce shouted, "Don't forget Lieutenant."

Burris raised his head and looked at Pierce who was at the door to the hangar, "I never do Sergeant," he said, "I never do."

* * *

The rain hadn't stopped, in fact, it had gotten worse since the squad was in the hangar. The first noticeable change Pierce noticed, besides the rain of course, was that there seemed to be constant thunder in the air. This thunder, turned out to be automatic weapons fire that echoed throughout the airbase.

Pierce chuckled to himself, his dry sense of humor emerging, "I'd say the cat's outta the bag."

"What was that Eric," Barnes questioned as he heard Pierce's voice.

"Oh nothing Corporal," Pierce said as he moved past Barnes, "Just admiring our current situation."

"Gotcha," Barnes nodded his head, "Trying to sound smarter than the rest of us."

"Trying to," Pierce said grinning to himself.

The eight Marines continued their bounding motions from the hangar on ward to their next objective; a guard post on the edge of the compound. The objective, was originally suppose to be easier to assault, due to the Marines advancing on it from the rear. However now that the alarm was raised and skirmishes were occurring all over the compound, the post would be well on alert for an attack.

"Bowren punch your team out thirty meters," Pierce said as the Marines approached the building.

Sergeant Bowren moved his team about thirty meters to the left of Pierce as the Marines continued advancing onto the guard post. The small post was dead ahead of them, the small concrete building guarding one of the three roads that led into the airfield. The two story building made entirely of concrete and steel, was lit up on all sides by flood lights and sentries were outside the building on the mounted machine guns. This was going to be difficult.

"Bowren, heavy machine guns on the flanks of the building, aim for them then work your way through the ranks," Pierce said through the LASH.

"Bravo copies."

Pierce took the first shot, the rounds from his M4 peppered the chest of the Russian that was manning one of the mounted machine guns. The Russian next to him had enough time to look with a shocked expression as his comrade fell to the ground before he himself was gunned down. The Marines fired as they advanced, there was no time to properly bound and assault the building; speed was their greatest ally and they intended to use it.

The two teams were within forty meters of the building by the time the Russians had organized and directed fire towards the Marines. One of the last remaining holdout of Russians outside the building was silenced as Pierce fired a 40 mm grenade that exploded once it made contact with the sandbag barricade. Dirt exploded into the air as the several Russians were shot backwards from the force of the explosion.

Pierce led Barnes and Reily forward towards the building as Eckers went prone into the muddy ground. He looked down the sight on his M249 and held the trigger. Dozens of bursts sent over a hundred rounds into the second floor of the guard post, shattering every pane of glass. Pierce and the two other Marines raced towards the door under the covering fire from Eckers.

As Pierce slammed his back against the wall of the building, he keyed his mic, "Eckers watch your fire, we're goin' in."

The lance corporal acknowledged the order, and began to check his fire more so, firing only several more bursts into the second floor. After seeing Pierce and the rest of the team enter the building, Eckers ceased his fire. Eckers slipped on the wet ground as he quickly propped himself up from the muddy ground, but regained his footing and he began trudging towards the guard post.

As he approached the doorway, he could hear the sounds of gunfire grow louder with each step. A grenade went off and showered broken glass from the second floor, just barely missing Eckers as he hit his back against the wall.

Leaning against the wall, he checked his box magazine to quickly see about how many rounds he had remaining; somewhere around fifty remained. The sound of gunfire had stopped from inside the building, in fact, there were no sounds at all, except the rain battering against every surface around him.

Eckers took a deep breath as he prepared to rush into the building, but before he could take a step, his ear piece came alive with the sound of Pierce's voice.

"Eckers, you there?"

Taking his left hand off the handle of the M249, he thumbed his mic, "I'm outside the building Sergeant, need help?"

"Negative, we're coming out now."

Within moments, Pierce appeared from the doorway and was startled by the close proximity of Eckers to the doorway.

"All clear out here," Eckers reported as the team circled around.

"Any sign of Bowren or his guys," Pierce questioned as he scanned outward, looking through his NVG set.

Before anyone could answer, Bowren appeared from the side of the building, jumping a little, surprised just as Pierce had been.

"Woods are cleared out, had a few stragglers but we took care of em," Bowren announced as he kneeled down next to Pierce, flipping his NVG optics up on the hinge.

"Good work gents," Pierce praised, looking at each Marine, "That's it for us tonight."

"Not for those guys out there," Barnes noted as the sounds of gunfire could still be heard coming from the interior of the airbase.

"That's not our concern," Pierce said sternly, "Holding this spot, no one in, no one out, that's our concern Barnes."

"I'm not complaining' Eric, just saying," Barnes retorted as he rose to his feet.

Barnes and Reily both moved away from the group and went to the other side of the building, looking towards the airfield. The rest of the squad began policing the weapons again off of the dead Russians.

Bowren and Pierce were on the second floor, looking through papers for any intel that could be gathered when the headsets came alive, "Two-One, Two, objective secured?"

Pierce stopped moving and turned to look at Bowren who was holding several slips of paper in his hand, "Well you gonna answer the Skipper or should I?"

"You look busy Bow," Pierce said as he turned his body to Bowren, "Let me get this one."

"If I didn't know you so well, I'd say that was almost sincere Eric," Bowren replied setting the paper down on the desk.

Pierce winked as he keyed the mic, "Two, Two-One, affirmative, objective secured, over."

"Roger that Two-One, good work," Burris said, "Interrogative, why don't you take a look back at the airfield."

"Copy Two, Two-One out," Pierce said before shouting out the broken windows to Barnes who was outside, "Hey Tommy!"

"Yeah," Barnes shouted back up at the two sergeants.

"Time for the fireworks," Pierce replied as he and Bowren moved to the broken windows and gazed towards the hangars.

Several moments passed and nothing happened, but then, an explosion, followed by a dozen more shook the entire airfield. The night sky was illuminated by the blasts, as shards of aircraft were sent high into the night sky. The hangar that they had assaulted minutes before was destroyed as munitions were ignited by the blasts. The once large hangar now was a collapsed heap of metal and steel, explosions still bursting as munitions cooked off in the heat. The fire burned bright even in the heavy rain, illuminating most of the airfield.

Pierce noted to Bowren, "Well if they didn't know we we're here, they do now."


	9. Friends Overhead

**So this chapter I decided to break away from Pierce and his guys for a quick second. This one focuses on the aircrew of an AH-1Z SuperCobra. You may ask why I don't give much description about the two airmen, well, don't want to give anything away so you'll just have to read. To help a little in case you get confused about who is who in this chapter, lots of dialogue using callsigns:**

**Pilot: Bull**

**Copilot/gunner: Don**

**Callsign: Star Three-Four**

**Command SuperCobra: Zero-Six**

**Enjoy**

**(P.S. Review please!)**

* * *

"Let's go Bull, we're late," Don said as he flicked several switches in the cockpit of the AH-1Z SuperCobra.

"We're going, keep your pants on Donny," Bull said as he brought the helicopter to full power.

Over the radio came the voice of an operator in the Combat Information Center of the helicopter assault ship _USS Peleliu_, "Star Three-Four you are cleared for dust-off."

"Copy Eagle Command, Star Three-Four is airborne," Bull said as he pulled the cyclic back, raising the SuperCobra into the air.

The helicopter rose, following the procession of other aircraft that took off from the decks of the several assault ships in the fleet that were stationed a dozen miles off of the Russian coast. Star Three-Four was one of twelve SuperCobras that were based on the _Peleliu_, and they were responsible for making sure that the AAVs and other landing craft would make it safely to the shore to deploy their loads of Marines.

The heavily armed SuperCobra was topped off with a full load of Hellfire missiles and Hydra 70 rockets, plus seven hundred and fifty 20 mm explosive rounds stored under the nose in the chain gun. Bull and Don hoped that by the time they had to return to the ship, that they would be fresh out of ammo; all expended over Russian targets.

"Star Flight this is Zero-Six, go to angels two and proceed to Waypoint Charlie, over."

"Copy Zero-Six," Bull said as he continued to pilot the attack aircraft into formation, "Jesus would you look at all that."

Don paused from checking his instruments and looked out both windows that enclosed him in the cockpit, "That's a lot of hardware goin' ashore."

Beneath the flights of aircraft, both attack and transport, an armada of ships lay beneath them. Dozens of amphibious assault ships of all kinds were anchored miles from Russia's shore, and emerging from the well decks of those ships, were hundreds of AAVs, EFVs, and LCACs. Pretty much any vehicle that could be launched from a ship was on it's way to Russia; the Marines from 1st Division were about to storm the beaches.

"Hornet Two-Two spread formation and cover the right flank."

"Roger that Two-Six, we're on it."

"Star Three-Three tighten up on Three-Four and keep with 'em."

"Copy Zero-Six."

The radio chatter was constant as the aircraft made their way to the coast, which took just over five minutes. The SuperCobras went feet dry just before the first AAVs hit the land.

"I got something here," Don announced as he peered through the FLIR scope, "Probable tanks at two clicks, two-eight-two."

"I tally," Bull said after hearing Don's voice fill his helmet, "Star Zero-Six enemy armor two clicks out, permission to engage?"

"Green light Three-Four," replied Zero-Six, the command helicopter, "Take Three-Three and Three-Five, along with you, over."

"Copy Zero-Six, Star Three-Four outbound."

Bull banked the aircraft and adjusted the course so they would fly right over the enemy positions. The two other SuperCobras followed suit as the trio broke from the main flight.

"You got a cleaner picture," Bull asked as they approached the position.

"Yeah, two T-90s idling by some buildings, I got a good tone on one of em."

"Three-Three you copy that," Bull asked.

"Copy that Three-Four, we have solid tone on the other."

"Three-Four copies," Bull said as he tried to peer out the canopy in the direction of the tanks, "Don do it."

"Three-Three missile away," Don said as he pressed the trigger.

A single AGM-114 Hellfire anti tank missile streaked from the SuperCobra's left wing. Seconds later, Three-Three fired their own and the two missiles connected to their targets within several seconds. The twenty pound warhead carried by the Hellfire was more than enough to punch through the armor of the T-90 MBT. The missiles hit their tanks on their turrets, creating a fireball inside the small compartments, igniting the shells and munitions carried by the T-90s.

The explosions rocked the buildings, blowing holes in the walls and shaking the trees that surrounded them, sending flocks of birds scattering in the sky. Several Russians that were not in the tanks could be seen scrambling around in confusion as their vehicles were destroyed by the unseen aircraft. Three-Five followed the two SuperCobras over the target, firing it's 20 mm chain gun at the Russians on the ground. The targeting aides in the system created a clear black and white picture on a two inch display that was projected on the gunner's face mask. The targeting reticle centered in the screen followed where ever the gunner looked. When Don first tested the system several months before back in California, he thought he was playing a video game it was so easy.

The three SuperCobras only needed to make one pass over the target, the tanks had been destroyed and the majority of the Russian's that had escaped the explosions had been killed by the chain gun.

"Good run boys," Bull said as he banked the helicopter around and returned to where the rest of the flight was several clicks down the coast.

* * *

"Repeat, this is Saber Two, we are in danger of being overrun by enemy armor and infantry, we need immediate air support."

Burris cursed as his pleas went unanswered. They had been promised air support ten minutes ago and here they still were without. Now the Russians were about to gain the upper hand on the two under-strengthen Marine companies.

Alternating between firing and desperately trying to contact someone on the radio, Burris was about at his limit, "Gunny targets fifty meters right," he shouted as he saw several Russians weaving in and out between the buildings. Burris fired several rounds at them before Gunny had spotted them and took them down with a burst of fire.

Ducking behind his cover he keyed the radio again, "This is Saber Two, does anyone copy?"

* * *

The twelve SuperCobras were circling the invasion forces at four clicks out. There was no heavy Russian resistance that met them on the beach. In fact the only contact they had, were the two T-90s that were easily destroyed in the opening moments. Don and Bull wondered if they would get to see any real action today as they completed another loop of the beachhead.

"Star Three-Four," the radio cracked as it came alive, "Switch freq to 101.7."

"Copy that Zero-Six," Bull said as he adjusted the dial on the console in front of him.

The headset blasted noise as the frequency hit 101.7, "Saber Two, under intense enemy fire," there was a pause, the speaker interrupted by a short burst of automatic fire, "Grid reference Alpha-Kilo-Eight-Three-One."

Zero-Six could be heard next, "Copy Saber Two, flight of twelve SuperCobras inbound on your location, ETA zero-two minutes, over."

Automatic gunfire could be heard as the voice came back over the channel, "Copy that Star Zero-Six, friendly positions will be lit by IR strobes, Saber Two out."

"Sounds like we're gonna get some," Don commented as he began checking the weapon instruments.

"Star Flight proceed to grid reference Alpha-Kilo-Eight-Three-One," Zero-Six stated, "Friendlies need immediate assistance, marked by IR strobes, all weapons are free."

The twelve SuperCobras banked out of their flight patterns and immediately turned inland towards the airbase. Their altitudes lowered as they began to skim the tree line, not more than one hundred meters off the ground.

"Alright boys, low and fast," Zero-Six's voice filled the channel, "Just like we've done, target the heavy armor first, then work your way through."

Eleven different voices then spoke as they all copied the orders. As the flight bumped over a final hill, smoke plumes filled the early morning sky. The black smoke of smoldering vehicles and buildings rose hundreds of feet into the sky.

"How long has this been going on for," Bull questioned.

"I didn't hear of anyone going ashore before the invasion," Don answered as he stared in amazement at the signs of the battle raging before them.

"Probably some special ops guys," Bull reasoned.

"Well they sure as hell know how party," Don said before being cut off.

"Star Flight be advised, flight of -18s are overhead," Zero-Six said with just enough time for Bull and Don to look up to see the four nimble fighters streak over the battle space.

The four F/A-18E Super Hornets were in and out in seconds. The jets streaked over the battle and released two munitions each. The Paveway bombs fell onto their targets, hits being visible as large explosions could be seen by the SuperCobras.

"Time to go to work," Bull said before the twelve SuperCobras broke off from their formation.

Three-Four and Three-Five broke off from the main flight and banked right as they began to circle the outskirts of the airfield. Craters, vehicle wrecks, and bodies could be seen littering the ground outside of the airfield's perimeter.

"BTR seven hundred meters," Don called out after spotting the vehicle.

"Hit 'em," Bull said an instant before Don fired another Hellfire HEAT missile, this one slamming into the BTR just under turret, Good hit, good hit."

The channel was filled with chatter as the helicopter crews found the new area to be ripe with targets. The amount of concentration that was needed to not only find, track, and destroy the Russian targets, but to also coordinate with friendlies and avoid collisions in the air was astounding.

"Infantry," Bull called out as he lined the SuperCobra up over a runway and began a run past it.

Don controlled the chain gun through the helmet mounted display that he had grown to love. He easily sprayed the area in front of them with 20 mm explosive rounds, that tore into the advancing platoon of Russian infantry. For good measure, Don also fired a salvo of Hydra 70 rockets, that streaked towards the ground, cratering the runway and sending thousands of fragments into the platoon.

The SuperCobra continued to rocket over the battlefield as the two crewmen searched for targets and threats. Bull banked the helicopter right as they began to make another sweep of the airfield.

"We got friendlies below us," Don shouted as he saw the IR strobe flashing in the display screen, "Shit Zeus bank left, bank left!"

A Russian ZSU-23-4, commonly called a Zeus, a multi-barreled anti aircraft vehicle had appeared from behind cover and the SuperCobra was in a path to take them right over it. Bull slammed the cyclic left and the SuperCobra swerved and climbed to avoid the Zeus. The Zeus ignored them and instead drew its' sights on Three-Five.

The four barrels of the Zeus barked as dozens of rounds filled the air, tearing into the fuselage of Three-Five. Smoke began billowing from the helicopter as it began to swerve slightly in it's flight, controls to the aircraft obviously lost. The Zeus fired another volley in quick succession into Three-Five, this time filling the canopy and engine with lead. Flames erupted from the SuperCobra as it spun widely out of control and crashed into the earth, landing on the wreckage of a BTR and the bodies of dead Russians.

Don was leaning his body against the right window, watching the destruction of Three-Five happen right before him.

"Shit they got 'em," he said as he dropped back into his seat.

"Three-Five is down, repeat, Three-Five is down," Bull relayed through the net channel, "No survivors," he said as he saw the entire wreckage burning on its side.

Bull circled the aircraft around the Zeus, who had claimed another kill as the wreckage of Star Two-Two crashed into an aircraft hangar that was already missing sections of the roof.

"I'm bringing us up behind it," Bull announced, "You tear it a new asshole."

From five hundred meters in the sky, the SuperCobra angled downward and began the attack run. The gunners of the Zeus must had seen them, for the barrels began traversing, trying to get their sights on the SuperCobra before they were destroyed. They were too and too slow late to shoot.

Don centered the targeting reticle onto the rear compartment of the Zeus and fired a combination of the 20 mm rounds and two salvos of Hydra 70s at the vehicle. The entire area erupted in a cloud of debris as the Zeus and the Russians around it were killed by the blasts.

Bull jerked the aircraft left and avoided debris that was flung into the air at the last second. Don continued to fire the chain gun at any unfortunate Russian that crossed into the targeting display. By the time he stopped firing, they were down to only seventy some rounds left in the weapon.

The SuperCobra gained altitude as they regrouped from the last attack run when the channel came alive with Zero-Six, "Star Flight be advised friendly air assets coming in to extract ground elements, watch your fire."

Several MV-22 Ospreys could be seen on the horizon, growing larger each passing second. They were almost finished with this fight, they only needed to last a few more minutes. Bull piloted the aircraft to make another strafing run on the runway to clear it of any last Russians.

Don fired the last remaining 20 mm rounds and a half dozen Hydra 70 rockets into a Russian position that was positioned next to a small building in the center of the airfield. One of the rockets streaked into the building and a fireball erupted into the sky. The rocket struck the fuel pumping station, igniting the thousands of gallons of fuel that were stored in the pipes and tanks.

"Shit," Bull shouted as he tried to avoid the fireball they were about to enter.

The tail rotor brushed the flames but they had survived the explosion. They made another half circle waiting to line up another pass on the runway.

"Watch what you're shooting at next time Donny," Bull said.

"Hey I hit the bad guys didn't-" he was cut off mid sentence as rounds exploded throughout the cockpit.

A BTR had targeted the SuperCobra and the main turret was unloading into them. Bull took evasive maneuvers and avoided the trail of rounds that chased the helicopter across the sky.

"Don, Donny," Bull shouted over the noise of air rushing through the holes that appeared in the side of the canopy as well as the rotors spinning.

There was no response, then Bull noticed the left side of the canopy, the glass painted red with the blood of his gunner.

"Oh Goddamn it," he said in disbelief, "Three-, Three-Four, I lost my gunner," he noticed that it was getting increasingly difficult to control the helicopter from going into a right spin, "I'm losing control of lateral movements, over."

"Copy that Three-Four, RTB now, Two-Four, ride shotgun on Three-Four."

"Roger that," Two-Four said as they broke off from their attack run and flew towards Bull.

Bull tried to turn the SuperCobra back towards the coast, but this task was made increasingly difficult by the loss of his controls. He had to take a wide arch that brought him over the airfield once more. He could see in front of him the Ospreys that were about to land and retrieve the ground forces.

As he crossed over the hangars and was over the open ground between the airfield and the woods, his radar warning began blaring. A shoulder launched SA-11 SAM had locked onto him.

"Fuck," he mumbled, realizing there was nothing he could do to avoid the missile, "Two-Four SAM launch, break off."

The other SuperCobra broke off of it's flight next to the wounded aircraft and cleared the area. A grey smoke trail burst from the edge of the woods, and a single missile streaked from this position into Three-Four, striking the bird underneath the right wing, tearing off the tail from the fuselage of the aircraft.

Bull felt the impact of the missile, and then really felt it as the canopy around him shattered from the fragments, showering him in glass. With the loss of the tail, the SuperCobra began spinning wildly as it dropped to the earth like a boulder.

As the air rushed around him and his vision was blurred, not able to tell what was ground or sky, Bull mumbled, "Hey Donny."

The SuperCobra slammed into the woods, tearing down a section of trees and sending a fireball into the air that caught the other trees near it on fire.

"Three-Four is down," Two-Four noted as they saw the fireball burst from the trees, "Repeat, Three-Four is down."

* * *

Pierce poked up from cover and fired off several rounds at the Russians two hundred meters away, "Go, go, go."

The remaining Marines in his squad raced from the cover to the waiting Osprey, the ramp down and crew chiefs crouched on the tarmac firing at the Russians. Pierce and Barnes were the last to board the Osprey, well, the crew chiefs were, but they were the last ground forces to board this Osprey.

Hardly any time was wasted from when the last man boarded to when the Osprey powered up and rose from the ground. Small arms were hitting against the steel floor, sending pings throughout the cabin. Pierce ignored the pings and moved away from the back of the aircraft.

The first thing he noticed was how few Marines were aboard this aircraft. He saw Burris, Gunny, and four others from that squad standing at the front of the Osprey holding onto straps dangling from the ceiling. Behind them, he saw a Marine on the floor with his pant leg ripped open and two Marines applying field dressings to a wound. Adding his men to the mix, Pierce counted only nineteen Marines.

He turned back towards the open ramp and could see the burning airfield behind him in the distance growing smaller each second. The remaining SuperCobras in the air were still engaging the Russians, as a distraction to allow the troop carrying Ospreys to evac from the area.

Pierce worked his way back towards Barnes, who was already in one of the red cargo seats against the side of the aircraft. Before he took a seat next to him, Pierce saw a fire in the forest, and the wreckage of a SuperCobra in the center of it; the SuperCobra that had saved Pierce and his team from certain death.


	10. Casualties of War

**You guys lucked out, two chapters in one day, its a miracle! Actually it was a power outage all day yesterday that gave me time to write these last two chapters. This one is small, and I got the idea from Generation Kill (if you've seen all the episodes you might know where this came from), I swear I don't know what I would do without that show feeding me ideas lol.**

**Again, I thank everyone for reading, but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review or favorite the story, it lets me know that this is actually worth writing still.**

* * *

"Bowren you got any movement," Pierce asked as he peered through his scope.

"Nothin' but the dogs," Bowren commented, only seeing several stray dogs barking at each other in the distance.

"Figured," Pierce said as he leaned back away from the scope mounted on his M4.

In front of the Marines just under a click in the distance sat a two lane bridge that crossed a deep river which was ripe with rapids. On the opposite side of the river near the bridge was a village, well, actually only several houses and what looked to be a school perhaps, Pierce couldn't fully tell. He just knew that they were tasked with observing the village for enemy activity and that is what they had been doing for the last few hours.

"Well I say this was a waste of time," Barnes interjected from behind the two sergeants.

"What are you talking about," Eckers argued, "This is a valuable use of military resources on a very valuable objective."

Barnes rolled his eyes and turned to look at Eckers who continued, "I mean, Command obviously wants to know if this five building village is safe to move through, and they want confirmation before _three_ fucking Marine companies cross the bridge."

"Well we better report in and say the coast is clear cause those 'three fucking companies' are set to be here within ten mikes," Pierce said without turning to look at the two underlings behind him.

The Marines had set up shop on top of a ridge set above the river to their front and right. The height advantage gave them excellent view into the village and the area in front of them. Pierce and Bowren were lying on top of a giant boulder that was half buried into the dirt while Eckers and Barnes were several meters behind and below them, covering the rear. Reily was several meters to Pierce's left, off of the boulder but still elevated looking down the scope of the M40A5. It was always a good thing to have two sets of eyes on a target, Pierce had three.

"Reily you see anything on your end," Pierce asked as he leaned across the boulder and looked down at the Lance Corporal.

"Negative, just the dogs," Reily said without looking away from the scope, "Saw some women and kids a few minutes ago peaking out of a couple windows but nothing else."

"Any males," Pierce questioned.

"None, there aren't any vehicles either, besides that tractor that looks broke down."

"Alright," Pierce said as he pushed himself back to his original position, "Good work."

Bowren looked at Pierce as the two sergeants laid on the boulder, "Time to call it in then or what?"

Pierce sighed, "Tommy call it in, village is clear."

Barnes reached across his body to the radio set and dialed in the frequency, "Warrior Six, Warrior Six, this is Saber Two-One, how copy over."

The response came, "Two-One, Warrior Six, what's your status, over?"

"Warrior Six, OP in place for two hours, no signs of hostiles," Barnes started before pausing and looking up at Pierce who nodded, "Village is clear, over."

"Copy that Two-One, Warrior Six out."

"So now what," Eckers asked Pierce as Barnes put the radio aside.

"Now we just wait for the convoy to pass through," Pierce said looking to the Marines, "Then we're RTB."

"Then it's time to find a shower," Barnes said quickly looking over at Reily, "Cause you smell like shit Sean."

Everyone laughed, besides Reily, who took his eyes off his scope to turn and look at Barnes, "Why you gotta be like that man, here I am minding my own shit, nice and quiet, and you have to bring me into your bitching."

"Jesus Sean," Barnes laughed, "I was just kidding man, looks like we gotta find you a woman too once we get back, someone's wound up a little too tight."

"Well Mrs. Barnes has been slacking a bit lately," Reily grinned as he turned and looked back down the scope.

"It's true," Pierce added, causing everyone to look up, "I had to take her out of my main line up, she just wasn't bringing in the money like she used to."

"Hey my mother is not a hoe," Barnes protested, realizing that the tables had turned and everyone was now against him, "She is a very nice, classy lady."

"I guess if that's what you call them nowadays," Bowren said, in his Texas drawl, "Than Eric runs quite a few classy ladies."

"Alright, alright," Pierce said, "Focus up, we only got a few more minutes of this shit left."

The team was getting riled up and focus was changing from the mission, to Mrs. Barnes. Pierce needed to change that and keep his men combat alert; there would be time for this tom foolery back at the base.

"I got the convoy," Reily announced, causing Pierce and Bowren to gaze through their scopes at the road in the distance.

Three Humvees led the convoy, followed close by four LAV-25s, then came the AAVs, EFVs, and additional LAV-25s.

"Good thing we called this village in," Bowren noted at the vast amount of hardware the convoy was rolling with, "Things might have gotten out of hand for these guys."

"I didn't pick this mission, you think I wanted to baby sit a bridge for two hours," Pierce said catching Bowren in the corner of his eye.

Bowren grunted in agreement as the two continued to watch the convoy approach, while Reily kept his scope on the village. They watched as the convoy neared the bridge and abruptly stopped short of the crossing. The Humvees came to a halt in a line while the four LAVs stopped to the right of them, extending the line of vehicles.

Through the scopes, Pierce and Bowren could see Marines dismounting from the Humvees and taking up firing positions in cover.

"What the hell," Bowren began but was cut short.

One of the fifty cals mounted on the top of a Humvee opened up, followed by another and finally the Mk. 19 grenade launcher on the third Humvee. As if things couldn't get worse, the LAV-25s opened up with their main cannons, 25 mm chain guns, which shredded the few buildings in seconds, turning the village into a pile of rubble and debris.

"The hell are they shooting at," Reily screamed as he saw the building where the women and children had been spotted topple over.

"Tommy do we have comms with that unit," Pierce shouted as the shooting continued below them.

"No all we have is Warrior and our local net," Barnes replied as he jumped onto the boulder where Pierce and Bowren were lying to see the carnage.

They stared in shock for two minutes before the firing had stopped. The convoy then loaded up and continued across the bridge and proceeded till they were no longer seen by the team.

"Tommy you called the village clear didn't you," Pierce questioned as everyone turned to face one another.

"Yeah, fuckin' Warrior Six acknowledged it," Barnes said, trying to convince the others that he was not to blame for the mistake.

"Well there weren't any hostiles in the village," Reily shouted as he stood up from his position and cradled the M40 in his arms, "We had eyes on for two hours plus."

Pierce interrupted the two, not wanting them to kill each other over this situation, "It's not our fault, it's not Tommy's or any of us."

"They just lit up an entire village Sergeant," Reily protested as he turned to Pierce.

"We don't know what they saw down there," Pierce told Reily as well as everyone else, trying to think of a reason to justify the massacre that just happened.

Eckers spoke up, "Eye for an eye man, it's simple."

"Murder though, they just killed kids with forties and twenty-five mike mikes."

"Did you see what they did in D.C.," Eckers retorted, "I did, I was there, that was fucking murder; this is nothing compared to that."

"We're not fucking like them though," Reily said, "We're not suppose to do shit like that," he shouted pointing his left arm in the direction of the village.

The team stood there silently for almost a minute before Pierce spoke up, "What's done is done, we're packing up," Pierce looked at Reily, "I want to be oscar-mike in two," he said before walking past the Marines towards the brush where their gear was.

Bowren walked to Reily who was still standing there and patted his shoulder, "Let it go son."

Bowren then walked to Pierce and began packing the gear up also. Reily stood there for several more seconds before taking a last look at the village in the distance. The dust could be seen floating skyward, clearly marking the massacre that just happened.

"What is happening," he mumbled as he turned back towards the team.

They were back at the base in thirty minutes. No one spoke to each other or any other Marine about what they had witnessed, they still had a war to fight, and they didn't need distractions splitting the team, or the Corps.


	11. Making Progress

**Invasion +3**

**12:18 Dal'negorsk, Russian Federation**

Pierce cradled his M4A1 in his arms, gripping the foregrip with his left hand as he quietly stood in the cabin of the Ch-46 Sea Knight. The interior smelled of engine oil and the noise of the dual rotors was over powering, but it could have been worse, Pierce reasoned. As he stared at the crew chief that stood by the ramp, Pierce became slightly envious of the Marine. All he had to do was make sure the twenty-four men got off of the aircraft, ensure no one was near the blades, and raise the ramp; that was his job. As he thought more about the duties of the crew chief, Pierce was nudged from behind, and he turned over his left shoulder to see Bowren standing behind him.

The Sergeant leaned next to Pierce's ear and shouted, "We're sixty seconds out."

"Time to go to work," Pierce shouted back, fist bumping Bowren, one of their traditions they had developed over the years.

Turning back to face the ramp, Pierce looked down and checked his M4 once more, ejecting the magazine, quickly looking to see if the first round was clean. After the satisfactory glance, he fit the magazine back into the receiver and slammed it in, finally yanking back the charging handle as the crew chief flashed his middle through pinkie finger in the air and yelled something inaudible to Pierce over the noise.

Looking at the Marines, all were going through a pre-game of sorts, some were rolling their necks, some checked their weapons, but all put their game faces on as the helicopter made it's final approach. Dirt swirled into the cabin from the open gunner doors near the front and also from the gap made by the lowering ramp. Pierce's eyes were protected thanks to the Oakley glasses he had remembered to pack before they left California.

The Sea Knight hit the ground followed by the ramp hitting. The crew chief waved his arm as he ushered the Marines out the opening. As Pierce rushed past him, he took one look at the nineteen or so Marine, and felt sorry for him; that was all he would get to do in this war was wave his arms and pull on a lever.

Pierce's boot smacked against the dirt as he left the Sea Knight's ramp. He followed the Marines in front of him as they rushed from the spinning rotors and dust storm created by the helicopter. After moving twenty or so meters from the bird, Pierce followed the Marines as he dove to the ground and began searching in front of him for targets.

The noise of a dozen Sea Knights and other aircraft filled the midday air, the sun beating down overhead the Marines that emerged from the aircraft. Lying to the south of them was Dal'negorsk, a forty-five thousand plus person town that laid about fifty miles southwest of the invasion force at Terney.

At the moment, two battalions of Marines from 1st Division were converging on the town, with elements of 2nd Battalion, meaning Bravo and Charlie Companies, landing several minutes early on a hill overlooking the town.

The Sea Knights left the area after depositing the Marines, numbering over one hundred and fifty. The sky was still filled with aircraft though, F/A-18E fighters, F-35Bs and attack helicopters from the assault ships that were lying off the coast. Soon, an additional twenty-two hundred Marines from 1st and 3rd Battalions would join the MARSOC Marines in Dal'negorsk.

"Second Platoon let's move," Burris shouted as he rose from the ground and began rushing forward towards the town.

Pierce followed his platoon commander and was to his feet in seconds leading his squad forward down the hill. The first obstacle that the Marines faced was an industrial complex and factory that laid on the outskirts of the town. Several large factory buildings took up the main acreage and the area needed to be secured so additional Marines could be landed on the open fields inside the complex.

As the Marines of Bravo Company rushed down the hill, the Russian forces that were in the town raced to the area to meet them. After several minutes of running, the first shots were fired as the Marines were only two hundred meters from the complex.

"Find some cover," Pierce yelled as he dove to his right behind several large rocks that dotted the otherwise barren landscape.

The other men in the squad followed his lead and got behind cover as rounds began to slam into the countryside, sending dirt snapping into the air where the rounds impacted. Several Marines fell to snipers that had moved to the top rafters of the factory buildings. Marine counter-snipers began to go to work; Reily was one of them.

Reily unslung the Squad Advanced Marksman Rifle, or SAM-R, a semi-automatic sniper system that was based off of the M16A4 rifle. The SAM-R had an effective range of six hundred meters and fired the NATO standard 5.56 mm round. Reily had left the M40A5 at the base before this mission, instead opting for the semi-automatic capabilities of the SAM-R that would be more useful in the urban confines of Dal'negorsk.

Reily propped the barrel of the weapon on one of the rocks that they had taken cover behind and flipped open the cover on the scope. As he looked down the scope, all he could see was blue sky, but then began to raise the stock and lower the barrel; the factories came into view.

"Sixth floor, first building on the right," Barnes called out as he ducked back behind the cover of the rocks after scanning the area through his own M4 scope.

Reily adjusted the dials on the scope as he focused on the sixth floor. He could see the muzzle flashes of Dragunov sniper rifles appear from several different locations on the factory. He announced that he had the targets lined up.

"Bowren, you dart forward on my go," Pierce said after hearing Reily's confirmation, "See that stone wall?"

Bowren glanced over the rocks and saw a stone wall about fifty meters to the front of the squad, several other Marines had taken cover behind it and were firing at the factory. Bowren nodded as he looked back at Pierce.

"Okay," Pierce said exhaling, "Reily take 'em out," he shouted as he, Barnes and Eckers popped out of the cover and began firing at the factory in the distance.

"Go, go, go," he shouted turning his head away from the scope for an instant.

One of the corporals led the team out of the cover towards the stone wall in front of them. The four men were gone in seconds, Pierce ducking back behind cover as several rounds snapped at the dirt a dozen meters behind him.

Reily had one of the Russian snipers lined up in his crosshairs but before he could fire and collect his third kill of the day, an AH-1Z SuperCobra strafed the factory filling the floors with 20 mm rounds. The sniper Reily had lined up was turned into a stubby, bloody mass as several rounds filled the window he was in. Taking his eye off the scope, Reily saw that Bowren's team had made it to the stone wall, at which point he ducked behind the rocks once more.

"You in one piece over there," Pierce asked as he thumbed the LASH.

"Affirmative Two-One, we're waiting on you," came Bowren's reply.

"Copy, get ready to lay down some cover in three," Pierce said as he readied his team.

Even though the air was filled with the noise of war, the addition of three M4A1s and an M249 firing from only fifty meters away was enough to tell Pierce that the time to move was now. That, and the noise Bowren was making as he shouted for Pierce and the Marines to move up.

Pierce burst from the cover of the rocks, he could see Barnes following him a few steps behind and to the right and knew the other two were following very close behind. As he ran, Pierce looked up at the city and was amazed at what he saw. Gunfire was coming from almost every floor of the factories, dozens of Marines were advancing on the ground towards the buildings, firing at every enemy position they could. Marine SuperCobras strafed the Russian buildings, the chain guns spitting out walls of lead, the shell casings could be seen falling as they reflected the sun in all directions. Even high above, the contrails of the Hornets and F-35s could be seen as they circled the town, waiting to drop their ordnance. He hadn't seen the finely tuned machine that was the USMC work like this since, since that fateful week, five years before in the Capital City.

Pierce raced forward into the awaiting hell, rounds struck the dirt around him and all over the hillside as the Russian snipers tried to stem the tide of the Marine force. Either it was heavenly intervention or poor Russian marksmanship, but Pierce managed to avoid being hit, as did the seven others he led. All were up against the stone wall in moments, quickly catching their breaths before their next leap forward.

Pierce leaned against the wall, his back pressed up against it. He barely fit underneath it, but the two meter stone wall offered better protection than much else that was around them. Pierce was in the middle of swapping magazines out of his M4 when a movement caught his eye to the east. He looked and in the distance, he could see the shape of a helicopter appear from inside the city. He immediately knew that it was not a friendly bird but before he could announce the threat to his fellow Marines, a missile streaked into the aircraft, sending it spinning back into the city below it. A SuperCobra followed the smoke trail of the missile as it flew forward, only to be swatted from the air itself by a portable SA-18 SAM. The SuperCobra burst into flames as the missile struck just behind the canopy. The flaming wreckage fell to the ground, smashing into several two story buildings behind the complex. The loss of the helicopter went unnoticed by most of the Marines on the ground, even though the aircrews that were flying overhead had just lost a wingman or a friend to the SAM.

"If you guys see any Russian carrying a SAM," Pierce started as he shouted down the wall at the Marines, "You hit them first, we need to help out our fly boys."

"Oorah," came the reply from the Marines as they shouted in unison.

"Let's advance up that alleyway," Pierce shouted as he motioned towards a narrow alley that ran perpendicular to the stone wall that led into the complex, "Bowren go!"

Bowren scrambled up from the ground and ducked his head low as he raced towards the alleyway. The remainder of his team followed him as they disappeared behind the wall of the alley. Pierce nodded to Barnes who was now the closest to the alley. Barnes, like Bowren, raced to the alley, half ducking and half sprinting. Pierce raised over the stone wall and fired off several rounds at the factories in the distance.

Squads of Marines could be seen making progress towards the buildings although under heavy fire from Russian snipers. Pierce only fired a half dozen shots before he pushed off of his right leg to a standing position and sprinted to the cover of the taller alleyway wall.

As he rounded the corner, Pierce could see Bowren and his team were already twenty meters further down the alley, and the bodies of seven Russians could be seen thirty meters past them lying on the ground. Pierce led the team to Bowren and he crouched next to the Sergeant.

"Caught them trying to flank us," Bowren started as he looked at the bodies in front of the Marines.

Bowren was cut off abruptly by Barnes who had fired two rounds at the bodies. One of the Russians was still alive and had been moving towards his gun that laid a meter from him. The two rounds struck the Russian in his back and neck, his body jerking from the impacts as he was killed.

"Fifteen meter bounds," Pierce said looking at the bodies, " Watch your left side," he finished, warning Bowren to stay near the wall and avoid straying to far into the center of the alley where the snipers in the factories could get an angle on them.

The squad began moving, quickly darting fifteen or so meters down the street and finding cover. They would then wait for the second team to rush past them an additional fifteen meters and do the same thing. The process was not hard at all, but doing so under fire by enemy snipers and the constant stress of a battle raging around was enough to make this task a hard one.

The eight Marines led the advance up the alley. Soon after Pierce had ordered Bowren through, additional squads began following their lead, and soon, five squads, were advancing up the alley. The forty Marines, all clad in the woodland MARPAT camouflage and carrying full loads of weapons, ammo, and other mission critical gear moved fast through the narrow corridor.

Pierce and his squad neared the end of the alley, which ended in a wall that was four meters high. Splitting off both right and left, the alley continued, left took them straight towards the factories while right would send them off towards a residential area with multiple several story houses. Pierce waved the squad left towards their objective, and two of the squads followed. The last two squads went right, and moved into the residential area; they must have been from Charlie because none of Bravo's platoons were tasked with residential areas. Bravo was tasked with taking the factory complex.

Pierce, Barnes, and Bowren were hunkered behind a dumpster that was positioned against the wall of the alley. Reily and Eckers were several meters behind and on the opposite side of the alley taking cover behind several drums. The rest of Bowren's team were further behind Reily and Eckers. The Marines all aimed their weapons at different sectors as they watched for Russians to appear from any location as another squad rushed forward towards the factory, which was thirty meters ahead.

A giant loading door could be seen half open, granting access for the Marines to the inside if they got close enough. The squad of eight moved forward in a staggered line, each watching a direction. They moved forward until the alleyway came to a stop, and took cover against the right wall. Tracer rounds could be seen zipping in both directions between the alley and the factory.

"Saber Two, Two-One, we are in an alley adjacent to the factory on the right side, over."

Burris was in the middle of the complex in front of the first factory when he heard Pierce over the radio. Amongst him were almost a dozen squads of Marines that were engaged with the Russian snipers and forces in the area. As he heard Pierce's location, he saw where some of the tracers were coming from. Two Marine squads were engaging a Russian position that was past the factory. The alleyway that Pierce was in formed the base of a T shape that was crossed by the firing of Marine and Russian guns.

"Copy that Two-One, we're lifting fire," Burris replied as he took cover, and turned towards the Marine squads firing, "Hey, check fire, friendlies in front of you!"

It took several attempts before the squad realized Burris was yelling at them. He caught a break and got their attention after throwing a rock at one of the Marines, that happened to hit him square in the back; better a rock than a Russian seven-six-two.

"Two-One be advised, we're checking fire, over."

Pierce heard Burris as he reached the end of the alley. The amount of tracers that flew past them decreased significantly as the Marines broke off contact at that spot. One of the Marines in the other squad poked his head out to see the Russian positions that were further into the complex. It turned out to be a fatal mistake as his head turned into a lump of red matter as a round caught him in the forehead. His body slumped to the ground and fell into the open.

"Pop smoke," Pierce shouted over the noise as he retrieved a smoke grenade from a pouch.

Several other Marines retrieved grenades as well and they threw the cylindrical canisters into the open area between the alley and the Russian positions. Several flickers later, and grey smoke began pouring out of the canisters, that within a matter of moments filled the area with an obscuring cloud.

"Move across in squads," a Lieutenant shouted that had appeared with the third squad in the alleyway.

The squad that had lost the Marine took up positions to cover as Pierce and his men readied to dash across the open area towards the loading door. The covering Marines poked out of the cover and began firing into the smoke cloud as Pierce and his Marines raced across the open area, the fifteen meter gap in cover seemed like a mile as they ran.

Pierce hit the wall first, slamming his back against the cement wall. Within seconds, all seven others slammed up against the wall.

"Everyone good," Pierce questioned.

After taking a moment to feel their bodies for any holes, the Marines responded that they were all good to go. Pierce nodded as he turned the corner and poked his weapon through the loading door's opening. The interior of the factory was dimly lit, but the sun's rays illuminated the interior through the many open windows on the upper levels. The additional holes created by rockets and 20 mm rounds also opened the space up a bit.

They moved quickly, half rolling up onto the platform then rolling underneath the opening while the others covered them with weapons ready. Barnes rolled through the space with ease, and quickly found a large container to take cover behind. He pushed up against the cover expecting fire to begin ricocheting off of the surroundings but none came. He waved towards Pierce to come in and the Staff Sergeant did just that, hoping up onto the elevated platform then rolling underneath the door.

The eight Marines got into cover before moving any further into the factory floor. Gunshots echoed through the great hall as the Russian snipers took aim at the Marines outside.

Pierce leaned into the cover next to Barnes as he keyed the LASH, "Two, Two-One, we are inside the factory, make sure the fly boys don't hit us with anything big."

"Copy that Two-One, all friendlies are notified," Burris replied.

After hearing Burris, Pierce noticed motion outside the door, more Marines had crossed the alley and were in the same position he had just been in. Pierce waited for a minute before issuing orders to his men. Within that time, the other fifteen Marines had crossed the alleyway, and infiltrated the factory floor through the same means as Pierce.

Now that they were up to full strength, the Marine force began moving through the factory. The Russians had still not noticed the Marines infiltration into their building, and found out at the very last minute that they had intruders, as the Marines coordinated and fired near simultaneously, striking down twenty Russian Airborne troops that were on the ground floor of the building. The Russians not killed in the opening volley now had to split their priority between the hundred so Marines advancing on them outside the building, but also on the twenty-three Marines that were within meters of their positions and on their exposed flanks.

A dull thud echoed from Pierce's M4 as he fired a 40 mm grenade that spiraled from the tube and soared into a Russian position behind several low lying machines.

"Contact right," Bowren yelled as he swung his M4 towards the back of the factory as more Russians poured into the floor from an open door.

"Targets twenty meters," another Marine yelled as he fired at Russian troops massed behind cover.

"Eckers," Pierce yelled looking at the Lance Corporal, "Targets two o'clock."

Eckers moved his head and saw a dozen Russian troops entering the factory floor from an opened door. He swung his M249 ninety degrees and propped it against the cover in front of him. He held the trigger down and watched the fireworks happen. At least seventy rounds sprayed from the light machine gun in various bursts, the majority of the rounds striking the Russians that had entered. The very few in front were struck down almost in a line as rounds penetrated their armor and flesh.

"Sergeant," the Lieutenant yelled at Pierce from across cover, "Get your squad upstairs and start clearing this building."

"Yes sir," Pierce nodded as he rounded up his men, "Two-One on me!"

The eight men of Saber Two-One broke contact from the Russians as best they could as they moved back towards their entry point and the stairwell. The stairwell led to the second floor, which was high above the first floor. They slowly advanced up the stairs, Barnes was the first one up. As he neared the top of the stairs, he poked his head up and was met with a burst of automatic fire that went high, shattering the plaster that was on top of the stairwell.

"Shit," he cursed as he dropped low to avoid the fire.

"Get your ass up there," Pierce shouted, wanting to get the squad out of the narrow stairwell that was just waiting for a grenade.

"Ah hell," Barnes moaned as he pulled the pin on a grenade and held onto it for a moment cooking if off.

After a second, Barnes threw the grenade through the stairwell exit and waited for an explosion to rock the floor. The blast sent shock waves through the floor as plaster was shaken off the ceilings and walls. Barnes leapt through the opening moments after the explosion, firing his M4 in all directions, dust and plaster floating in the air still obscuring his vision. He dove behind a desk that was near the stairs as he waited for the others to follow him.

The Marines went through quickly, Reily was the fourth through, and the moment after he took a step towards cover, he was struck by a round in his chest. The force of the round sent the Lance Corporal falling backwards. Bowren, who was right behind him through the stairs, reached down and grabbed him by his armor and dragged him to cover as the Marines returned fire at the Russian positions.

"Sean, Sean," Bowren shouted as he knelt down beside the Lance Corporal.

He ran his hand alongside Reily's back as he searched for an exit wound, but came up empty. He then looked at Reily's body armor and saw that the round had been stopped.

"You lucky bastard," Bowren said laughing as he turned and fired off several rounds, "You okay?"

Reily moved his hands along his chest, feeling where the bullet impacted on his body armor, "Yeah, yeah, I'm alright," he said as he got to his feet.

Pierce appeared behind the two Marines, "Sean you okay?"

"Oh he just got the wind knocked outta him," Bowren said in his Texan drawl as he fired at the Russians.

Reily nodded his head before getting to his feet and returned fire at the Russians that had almost killed him. The gun battle now raged on two floors, and as the Marines advanced further, more of the Russian snipers had to divert their attention from outside to inside, which allowed the other Marines to enter the factory. It was only a matter of time before they took the factory.

After ten minutes of a grenade tossing, bullet rattling melee, the Marines had finally overtaken the Russians hold of the factory. The Marines were able to swarm out and secure a portion of the complex quickly which opened the area up for the Marines from 1st Battalion to land at the new LZ just outside the city center.

Pierce led the squad from the factory out onto the open field, Marines had extended their perimeter in all directions and most were engaged with the Russians that held the town. The situation in the sky hadn't changed much either since they were inside; helicopters still dueled above the city and above them, Russian fighters now challenged the Hornets and F-35s to a deadly dance that few would walk away from.

As Pierce stepped onto the grass field, he rolled up his sleeve to look at his watch. The digital display read 12:43. The sound of SuperCobras drew his attention skyward and he saw a flight of three swoop over the factory complex, leading a huge formation of MV-22 Ospreys, Ch-46 Sea Knights, and MH-60 Seahawks, which were ferrying the elements of 1st Battalion that were joining the fight.

A missile streaked from the center of town skyward. The smoke trail led from the point of origin at a housing complex to the target, one of the Sea Knights that was flying in over the hill. The missile struck the old helicopter and sent it falling to the ground in flames. No survivors made it out of the burning inferno, but the sight of that did not deter the other aircraft that made their approach to the newly acquired landing zone. Hundreds of Marines rushed past Pierce and his team as they advanced into the city looking for a fight. There would be plenty of fight to find as the Marines ventured further into the city and into the waiting Russian sights.


	12. Change of Scenery

Invasion +3

18:24 Dal'negorsk, Russian Federation

Eight hours after Pierce and the men of Bravo Company first landed outside Dal'negorsk, twenty-five hundred Marine riflemen had joined them. The Marines had pushed into the city from the north, splitting the Russian force right down the middle. Additionally, armor elements had raced south from the beachhead and were now pushing into the city from the east side. It was only a matter of time now before the entire city would be under Marine control.

A grenade exploded, sending debris and dust shooting through the doorway as its deafening noise echoed through the halls. Several bodies rushed through the doorway, accompanied by a burst of gunfire.

"Clear left," a voice shouted.

"Clear right," came another.

Another Marine entered the room and quickly surveyed the area. One of the first Marines to enter turned and looked at the new arrival.

"Three Russians dead Eric," Barnes said as he stood in one of the corners of the room before peering back out one of the windows.

"Check 'em out," Pierce ordered.

The Marines quickly searched over the bodies of the Russian soldiers that were in the room. Within a minute they were ready to move on again. Gunshots and explosions echoed through the building and surrounding area as Marines and Russian forces engaged each other in brutal CQB fighting.

As the team was getting ready to move out, Pierce's headset came alive as he paused for a moment to listen, "Two-Two secured the top floor," he began, "This building's clear."

"Thank Christ," Barnes sighed as he moved away from the window over looking the courtyard below them.

The comm channels were alive with chatter as the team moved down the flights of stairs to the ground floor. By the time they had descended the four flights of stairs, the building complex had been secured, and Marines were emerging from several of the large, multi-story buildings that surrounded the courtyard.

"You boys see the Skipper," Pierce questioned as the team entered the courtyard.

"Yeah 'cause I keep an eye on him at all times," Barnes sarcastically said as they descended the cement stairs in the front of the building.

"When we're done here Tommy," Pierce said turning his head, "I'm gonna kick your ass."

Barnes just laughed as they walked through the courtyard searching for Burris. Every Marine looked the same, drenched in sweat, dirt, and some blood, the Marines weren't recognizable from a distance. After working their way back in the direction of friendly lines, they finally found the lieutenant.

"Give it to me straight Eric," Burris said as the team approached the platoon commander.

"Nineteen Russians dead, two captured," Pierce rattled off, "Turned them over to elements of BCT-1."

"What about us," Burris asked as he looked up from a map that was stretched on the ground.

"Three wounded, two dead, all from 1st Battalion," Pierce reported showing little signs of sympathy.

"It's not gonna be pretty," Burris said before changing the subject, "Had a request come down line for you Eric."

Intrigued, Pierce asked more, "Request, for what sir?"

"No idea, but apparently someone higher up wants to have a word with you and your team."

Pierce looked back at the team as they all exchanged looks of confusion. The relative silence was broken by gunfire erupting from a courtyard adjacent to their position. Pierce looked in the direction; Burris knew Pierce well enough to know what he was thinking.

Putting his hand on Pierce's shoulder Burris said, "Head to the rally point and catch a ride back to the beachhead," Burris was cut off mid sentence by an explosion which caused both to look towards the courtyard, "We got this here Eric."

The eight Marines began their walk back towards the rally point, the complex that they had secured earlier in the day. As they approached the complex, it was vastly different from what they had seen several hours before. Now, armor units were positioned around the perimeter, aircraft idled in the fields, and armed gunships circled the area, all under the watchful eyes of Marines armed with Javelins and SAMs.

As they entered the complex and searched for a ride back to the beachhead, they found that a Seahawk was already idling, waiting specifically for them. A little over an hour later, the Seahawk was touching down on the deck of the _USS Ronald Reagan_.

* * *

As they disembarked from the aircraft, they were met by several other Marines, who led them through the maze of corridors until finally, they stopped at a briefing room.

One of the Marines turned to Pierce, "Sergeant you can head in, the rest of your men can follow me to the mess."

Pierce looked back at Barnes and Bowren, "You ladies going to be okay without me?"

"I'll be just fine," Bowren said, "But I can't vouch for these bastards."

Pierce grinned, "See you in a bit," he said as he knocked on the door and entered.

As Pierce entered the room, he saw that there were only two others in the room, one seated at the oak table, the other standing in the corner reading the contents of a manila folder. The seated figure, a middle aged man dressed in woodland MARPAT fatigues rose and greeted Pierce as he shut the door.

"Staff Sergeant Pierce, reporting as ordered," Pierce said.

"Staff Sergeant, welcome aboard, I'm Colonel Lawrence, please, take a seat."

Pierce dropped his rucksack next to the door and took a seat in one of the leather chairs across the table from the colonel. He quickly glanced at the man in the suit that was still standing in the corner of the room before finding the colonel again.

"So I bet you're wondering why you're here huh Pierce," Lawrence began.

"I guess you could say that sir," Pierce replied.

Lawrence leaned forward and retrieved a manila folder that was lying on the table and turned it open, "Says here that you were in San Diego, saw some pretty nasty things there I bet."

"I've seen a few other worse, but yes sir, I was in San Diego."

"As well as Afghanistan, Iraq, the Capital City," Lawrence listed off, "I think I can imagine those worse sights you're talking about Staff Sergeant."

"Sir if you don't mind me being blunt," Pierce started, "What's the matter of this? My team and I weren't taken straight from the front and rushed to a carrier all for a trip down memory lane."

The colonel looked back at the suited man who looked up from the folder, there eyes meeting for an instant before the colonel looked back at Pierce, a faint grin across his face.

"We have a task that requires a man of your caliber to accomplish; it's certainly not a walk in the park and the risks are substantial," Lawrence said, carefully observing Pierce.

"Well I joined the Marines because I hate both of those."

Lawrence chuckled, his laugh bellowing throughout the room as he turned again to the man in the suit, "I like this guy," he said before continuing, "What we need Pierce, is a certain individual to be neutralized."

"Who's the target?"

"A U.S. Army brigadier general," Lawrence said with a straight face.

Pierce laughed, "Are you serious sir, a brigadier general?"

"This man is a traitor to the United States of America, he and troops loyal to him are currently in Russia right now where we have reason to believe he is passing on critical information to the Ultranationalists. We need him taken out before he can cause anymore damage to this country."

Pierce sat in silence for a moment as he allowed the information to sink in, "What do you need me for sir, why can't you just call in an airstrike?"

"Because we need this to be precise; we want you to lead a small team into the area and take him out from a distance."

Lawrence was cut off by the man in the suit, "Shouldn't be hard for you Pierce, you seem to work quite well from behind the scope."

Pierce still sat silent as Lawrence continued, "Wheels are up at 0500, I advise you and your team to get something to eat and grab some shut eye, you're going to need it Staff Sergeant."

* * *

It was another twenty-four hours before Pierce and the seven other Marines were on the C-27J Spartan heading into Russian airspace. They had departed the _Reagan_ at 0500, and were flown to a Marine base on Okinawa, where they then departed for Bagram Air Base. After hours of flight time, they finally arrived at Bagram shortly after 2130 local time.

The Marines were directed from the USAF transport towards a hangar at the end of the runway. After entering, they were given a final briefing about the mission from Lawrence before prepping their gear one last time.

"Well gentlemen," Lawrence said as the team was walking out the hangar door, "Good luck."

As Pierce walked towards the waiting C-27J, an updated derivative of the old C-130 Hercules, he thought about the mission they were embarking on. The strange nature of how they were pulled from the Russian front to go off and assassinate a brigadier general that was selling secrets; it all seemed too unreal, but Pierce didn't complain, after all, MARSOC was all about special operations like this.

* * *

**It's been forever since I updated this, so here's a short chapter. Now our Marines are going off on an assassination mission, seems easy enough, I'm sure there won't be any surprises or twists coming soon.**

**Thanks for reading, and PLEASE REVIEW, even the littlest comment will make it seem like continuing this is worth it.**

**(The courtyard at the beginning of the chapter, imagine Bloc multiplayer map from Modern Warfare, if that helps at all hah)**


	13. Wetwork

**Invasion +5**

**17:22 125 Miles Northwest of Russian-Georgia Border**

"Anyone see him," Pierce asked as he scanned the distance through his binoculars.

"Negative, nothing on the right," Reily reported, sweeping his sector through the scope of an M82A2.

"Ain't got shit here," Barnes said after sweeping the left side of the compound, "Just a lot of foot mobiles, heavily armed too."

"Keep an eye out," Pierce said as he lowered the binoculars and reached to key his comm, "Bravo, you see anything on your end?"

Watching the compound from the east was Bowren and his three man team. The two teams had been observing the compound for several hours now, and have not yet identified their target, Brigadier General Thomas Ryan.

From his position high in the tree line, Bowren answered, "Negative Alpha, no positive yet, over."

Pierce glanced to his right in the direction that Bowren was, almost a klick away, "Copy Bravo, keep us in the loop, out."

Pierce looked back at the compound below him. Nine hundred and sixty-three meters away, several buildings dotted the landscape. The buildings must have been several decades old, and long since previously abandoned due to the decrepit nature of the exteriors. But that didn't stop the troops below them from turning this compound into a heavily armed base. Over two hundred troops could be seen below them, each armed with some sort of Russian weapon. Additionally, dozens of vehicles were scattered around the area, most underneath camo netting, hiding what lay beneath from curious aircraft overhead.

"So remind me again why we're doing this," Barnes broke the silence.

"We got a general selling secrets Tommy, makes sense to do this," Reily said looking away from the scope.

"Alright that's fair, but who the fuck is this guy, I mean have any of you heard of him?"

Pierce spoke up next, "Lawrence told me that this guy used to run some unit," Pierce paused as he tried to remember the proper name, "The 303rd Logistical Studies Group, what ever the hell that was."

"What the hell even is a Logistical Studies Group," Eckers added, as he was positioned behind the three marksmen, "Guarantee that's bullshit, guy ran black ops."

"Thanks for your insight into the matter Lance Corporal," Pierce said.

"Just trying to help out," Eckers said before he returned to covering the rear of the sniper nest.

"Smart-ass," Pierce mumbled as he returned his vision to the compound.

"I think we got something here," Reily announced as he wiggled around and peered down the M82A2.

"Tell me what you see," Pierce said quickly as he trained his binoculars on what Reily called out.

"Three, four, five black SUVs approaching the compound on the north-south road," Reily said as he scanned over the convoy.

"Range approximately eleven hundred and closing," Barnes read as he looked down at the map he had drawn of the area with the range and distances labeled.

As that happened, Pierce had raised Bowren on the comm, and was relaying the targets and distances to the second Marine team. Within ten seconds of Reily first spotting the convoy, four long barreled rifles were now trained on the vehicles, two M82A2s, Reily's and one of the corporals with Bowren, while Barnes and another corporal carried M40A5s.

Pierce reached for the sat-com system next to him, "Hawk Six, Phantom, eyes on vehicles approaching compound, waiting for confirmation of target, how copy?"

Lawrence, along with the suited man and several other personnel were sitting in the the same hangar at Bagram when Pierce radioed in. The tables before them hosted a half dozen monitors and different sets of electronics all being used to track the Marine team.

Lawrence grabbed one of the microphones, "Phantom, Hawk Six, we hear you," he started, "Keep us advised on the new guests, over."

Almost a thousand miles away, Pierce heard Lawrence instantly, "Copy that, Phantom out," he said as he put the sat-com receiver down, "Reily you see our boy down there?"

Reily swept the convoy of vehicles again as they came to a halt inside the compound, "Not yet, hold on, they're exiting the vehicles."

Almost a klick downrange, the five SUVs had halted in the middle of the compound. The doors on each vehicle opened at nearly the same time, and from each door, stepped an armed combatant, clad in Crye MultiCam fatigues and carrying standard American weapons.

From the second SUV, one of the exiting members drew Pierce's attention as he looked from afar through the binoculars, "Second vehicle, south side, wearing a beret," Pierce announced to both Reily and Barnes, but also Bowren, who heard over the radio.

"Looks like our guy," Reily said as he zeroed in the crosshairs over the man's chest.

"Bravo, that look like our guy," Pierce asked.

"Affirmative Alpha," Bowren replied as his own two marksmen eyed the man.

"Copy," Pierce said as he picked up the sat-com receiver once more, "Hawk Six, Hawk Six, Phantom, eyes on primary, permission to engage, over."

"Green light," Lawrence said, "Green light to engage, evac is inbound to secondary, Hawk Six out."

Pierce let out a deep breath as he set the receiver down and raised the binoculars again. He found Brigadier General Ryan and centered his view on him, adjusting the knobs on the binoculars to gauge the distance to the target.

"Range nine-eight-niner, target moving west, windage right to left," Pierce said aloud so Reily could adjust his scope to lead the round into Ryan.

"I tally," Reily said as he led the target by several mils.

Pierce keyed his mic, "Bravo you copy?"

"Hear you loud and clear Alpha," Bowren responded, "We got good tally on target."

"Copy that standby," Pierce said, "Fire, fire, fire."

Following the third _fire_, two loud cracks filled the air, as the fifty caliber rifles fired near simultaneous. The rounds spun from the barrels and flew straight and true, directly into Brigadier General Ryan as he walked across the mud soaked ground. The first round from Reily struck Ryan in the left shoulder, tearing through his body and impacting against the SUV's door that was meters away from him. The second round hit a fraction of a second later, and struck Ryan in his lower back. The force of the two large rounds impacting sent the brigadier general spinning to the ground, pieces of him torn from his body.

Immediately following the two shots and Ryan falling, commotion on the base ceased for but a moment, before all hell broke loose. Several of the men close to Ryan checked him for signs of vitals and dragged him to cover to see if anything could be done for the dead man. The other Americans that had arrived with him turned towards the sources of the shots, along with every other person inside the compound.

"Time to move," Pierce said as he got to his feet and quickly began packing the sat-com away.

Reily began picking up the M82 to prep it for travel as Eckers turned towards the compound and laid his SAW on the ground, waiting for targets to come forward.

"Eric we need to go now," Barnes shouted as he observed the compound below through the M40A5.

Vehicles were already pouring out of the compound and dispersing around the area, almost a dozen headed towards where Pierce and his team was.

Pierce reached and keyed the mic, "Bravo haul ass to the secondary, we got heat."

"More like a fucking inferno," Barnes commented as he pushed himself up from the ground and began moving past Pierce towards the extraction point in the south.

The four Marines quickly gathered all of their gear and began racing south towards the point where the helicopter and hopefully reinforcements would meet them. The hills and thick forests provided cover for the Marines as they avoided the approaching Russians and American forces that were hunting them. Slipping past a shallow river, they put a natural barrier between them and the vehicles that could be heard behind them. Every so often, Pierce would quickly contact Bowren to check on Bravo's progress towards the extraction.

* * *

They had been on the move for close to twenty minutes when Pierce stopped them. They spread out and covered their sectors as Pierce grabbed the sat-com and attempted to raise Lawrence.

"Hawk Six, Hawk Six, this is Phantom," he began, "How copy over?"

"Solid copy Phantom," came the reply.

"We're less than one klick from the secondary," Pierce said as he tried to speak in between gasps for air, "ETA on the bird?"

"Phantom, ETA on bird approximately twenty mikes, over."

"Copy that, Phantom out," Pierce said as he packed the sat-com away and motioned for the Marines to keep moving.

"Bravo, ETA on Savior Two-Four is twenty mikes," Pierce said, keying the mic.

"Copy that Alpha," Bowren said, his heavy breathing heard clearly, "We'll be there soon."

As the Marines made their way through the rugged hills that occupied this corner of Russia, Pierce noticed that Reily was struggling to keep pace while hauling the M82 along with his assault rifle.

"Sean drop the Barrett," Pierce said as he stopped to wait for the lance corporal.

"Here," Reily asked puzzled, as he never left equipment in the field, Pierce always made sure that the Marines stayed invisible.

"Yeah, anywhere," Pierce said as he grabbed the shoulder strap that was wrapped around Reily, "It's extra weight and we have a bird to catch."

The M82 clattered to the forest floor as the four Marines quickened their pace towards the extraction now that they were thirty pounds lighter. Their salvation lay over two more hills, which opened up into a field that could hold several football fields. Large rocks and trees dotted the field, but there were several places large enough that a Black Hawk could land.

About ten minutes later, the Marines had gotten to the field and had taken cover in a ditch that provided adequate cover from the north. The ditch had once held a small creek or river, allowing the Marines to lie prone or crouch and expose only small parts of their bodies.

Pierce sat down and leaned against the side of the ditch, "Bravo where the hell are you?"

Several seconds passed, "Alpha we are under heavy fire," a pause replaced by a long burst of automatic fire, "Route to secondary cut off," another burst of fire, "We have a man down and are immobile."

"Bravo where are you," Pierce said, concern in his voice, "We're coming to you," as he pushed himself up.

"Negative Alpha, get the hell out of here," Bowren said, a huge volume of automatic fire and explosions could be heard through the earpiece.

"Fuck that Chris," Pierce said, now standing, gripping his M4A1 in his right hand while his left hand was pressed against the mic key, "Tell me where you are, we're-"

A bullet zipped mere inches past Pierce's head, slamming into the ditch several meters behind him, kicking up dirt. He instinctively crouched down as more bullets pinged around the Marines.

"Contact front," Barnes cried as he propped his M4 against the edge of the ditch and began firing rounds downrange towards the Russians.

"In the tree line, two hundred meters," Reily shouted as he fired his rifle towards the enemy forces that had caught up with them.

Pierce fell forward and positioned himself next to Barnes as he alternated between firing and talking to Bowren. RPG's streaked from the tree line towards the Marines but they were far from target, although several landed short and showered dirt over the Marines.

"I don't have any clear shots," Barnes shouted as he couldn't properly line up targets, the trees obscuring his view.

"Just pour it on," Pierce said as he rummaged through his pack for the sat-com, "Hawk Six, Hawk Six, Phantom, we are in contact with enemy forces at secondary, need extraction now."

His call went unanswered, and he repeated himself several seconds later. Again, nothing was heard in the receiver from Lawrence or anyone at Bagram.

"Damn it," he cursed as he threw the receiver to the dirt and returned to firing at the Russians.

"What, no answer," Barnes asked as he fired several rounds towards the trees.

"Can't raise anyone on the damn thing," Pierce said before he finally lined up one of the Russians that had advanced from the tree line and put him down.

"Are you shitting me," Barnes began before being cut off by another RPG explosion that had landed behind the Marines.

"Tommy look," Reily shouted, his voice distorted from the explosion still ringing in their ears.

Both Barnes and Pierce glanced behind them to what the lance corporal was pointing at. High in the sky was a single silhouette, but as it got closer, the shape became more defined.

"Hell yeah," Barnes shouted, "Bout time the bird showed up."

"Where's the Black Hawk," Pierce mumbled to himself as he recognized the helicopter as an AH-64 Apache.

Before he could say more, the bird was blotted from the sky by several missiles launched from the surrounding trees. The Apache began spinning wildly out of control as it careened into the field below, bursting in a plume of flames.

"No, no, no," Reily shouted upon seeing the helicopter swatted from the sky in seconds.

"Bravo you still there," Pierce questioned.

There was no reply, causing Pierce to again repeat his question. Nothing filled the airwaves except his voice. Bravo had been overrun by the Russians somewhere in the hills to the north of them.

"We lost Bravo," Pierce said as he got back to his position firing at the Russians.

"You serious," Barnes asked glancing to Pierce, who only nodded.

The Marines were running through their ammo while the Russians continued to advance on them from the tree line. Armored vehicles and APCs had even appeared from the left and right and were converging on their position. Heavy machine gun fire began pouring from the top mounted turrets on the APC's as they closed to within a hundred meters of the Marine position when all of a sudden, the fire tapered off almost instantly. The four Marines continued to fire at the APC's which had stopped in their tracks when a voice came over a loudspeaker.

"Marines," the voice bellowed, "Cease your fire immediately."

The three Marines instantly looked down the ditch at Pierce, who after a moment, cautiously nodded his head and said, "Hold up guys."

The field became quiet, save for the flickering of the flames that engulfed the Apache and the idling engines of the APC's and vehicles. Several seconds after the fire stopped, the voice bellowed again, coming from somewhere in the tree line.

"I want to speak to who is in charge," the voice boomed.

None of them moved, not wanting to stand up only to be struck down by a sniper's bullet.

"I'm coming across to talk to who ever is in charge," the voice echoed.

Pierce glanced above the ditch, and could see movement along the tree line, followed by a figure emerging. The man, a tall, built African American emerged from the trees, dressed in the MultiCam fatigues that identified him as one of the Americans that had arrived with Ryan. He carried with him an M4A1, but it was pointed down, held on his right shoulder by the sling.

The man walked across the field, showing no hesitation as he passed the final APC and was closing in on the Marines. As he came to within fifteen meters, Reily stood up, exposing his upper body from the cover of the creek, and pointed his weapon at the man.

"That's far enough," Pierce shouted.

The man stopped in place and stood, scanning the ground where he could see the three other Marines poking out from the ground.

"Who's in charge here," he asked with authority.

"I am," Pierce said, standing up to face the man.

"Who exactly are you?"

"Staff Sergeant Eric Pierce, United States Marine Corps," Pierce said sternly.

"Well Staff Sergeant do you have any idea what you just did?"

"We served our country," Pierce said, "Which is more than I can say for you and your cohorts over there running with the Russians."

"You are one confused Marine," the man said, slightly relaxing his stance, "I don't know if you know this, but we're the good guys over here."

As the two exchanged words, another APC pulled into the field, slowly traversing and coming up behind the man, who glanced behind to see the vehicle stop. He reached his hand to his ear to cover the earpiece for a moment before waving towards the APC and turning to Pierce.

"Staff Sergeant in sixty seconds several attack helicopters will be coming over this hill behind me," he began as a hatch opened on the rear of the APC, "Now you can show some trust and come with me, or stay there."

Several Russians appeared from the APC, two of them flanking a figure who Pierce quickly recognized as Bowren, his weapon missing and his arms tied behind his back with a set of FlexiCuffs.

"Now the only reason we stopped firing was because we found out you weren't who we thought you were," the man said as the sound of rotor blades growing louder, "We don't want to kill anymore confused Marines today."

Pierce looked down the ditch at his men, all were tired and filthy, but more importantly, low on ammo. He looked back towards the man, who had been joined at his side by the two Russians and Bowren. The silhouettes of two Mi-28 Havoc attack helicopters appeared over the hill and slowed to a hover over the field.

"It's your choice Pierce," the man said.

Pierce nodded his head slightly, and the Marines rose to their feet, dropping their weapons to their sides as they stepped out of the ditch and walked towards the waiting Russians.

* * *

**Okay now I don't own MW2 or The Unit, yes you read that, I'm making an appearance by Jonas and the rest of The Unit to the story. Next couple of chapters, the Marines will meet up with some surviving TF141 members, maybe even Price and Soap? Guess you have to keep reading to find out.**


	14. SERE

**Invasion +5**

**20:13 125 Miles Northwest of Russian-Georgia Border**

For the last twenty minutes, all Pierce saw was black. The last image he remembers had been the Russian; a stocky man, wearing an ushanka with a Russian badge on the front, that had thrown a black bag over Pierce's head. Pierce would never forget the odor that surrounded the Russian though, that smell would last Pierce his life, which may not be much longer he thought to himself.

After the bag was violently thrown over his head, he was pushed into what he figured had been an APC. With his hands tied behind his back, it was awkward as he tried to stay on the metal seat as the vehicle had bounced on the terrain. Pierce didn't know whether his men were still with him, the only thing he heard were Russian voices, and they didn't seem to happy.

Pierce listened to two Russians sitting beside him, no less each cradling a pistol ready to use in a heartbeat. They were jittery, not a good sign. Pierce listened more before being slammed to the right as the APC came to a halt. The sound of the hatch opening followed by more shouting in Russian followed. As he was grabbed out of the APC, he faintly heard the voice of the American again, telling the Russians where to send the Marines.

The next thing Pierce knew, the bag was being ripped off his head. He had to close his eyes as he adjusted to the lighting in the room that was directed at him. After several quick blinks, he looked around the small, windowless room.

He was sitting in a metal chair, his arms still tied behind his back. Pierce looked to his left and saw the smelly Russian slam the only door shut. He then scanned the room, seeing three others beside himself. Two were hidden in the corner opposite the door, their faces hardly visible, hidden in the shadows. The third, was the American, who pulled the metal chair opposite Pierce out from the table and took a seat, examining Pierce's every reaction.

No one spoke for several moments, the silence interrupted when Pierce blurted out, "Where the hell are my men?"

The American said nothing as he continued to observe Pierce, who became agitated with the lack of response. He shouted his question again, this time, the American responded.

"Your men are fine Pierce," he said calmly.

"Well where are they," Pierce demanded.

"The four that are still alive are being held in a room across the hallway, they're getting food and water as we speak," the American said, "The three others are being collected from the field and should be back here soon."

The mention of the three other Marines that had been killed stung Pierce, who had hardly had time to get to know them. Atleast they were being cared for, well, allegedly.

"Do you know why you're here, Staff Sergeant," the American asked.

Pierce said nothing. Hopefully the SERE training was about to pay off, except the whole Evasion aspect of it, he would have to work on that part later.

"Listen, I know this whole thing and how it works," the American said, leaning back in his chair for the first time, "I've been on both sides of this table so there's no use trying to get you to talk flat."

"Staff Sergeant Eric Pierce, born," Pierce began to rattle off.

"Enough of that, I don't care about your numbers," the American said after Pierce finished, "What I want, is to try and talk some sense into you."

Pierce said nothing as he looked at the American.

"Do you know who your men killed earlier Pierce," he asked, Pierce said nothing in response, "He was an advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had been in the Army for over thirty years, fifteen of which he commanded the 303rd Logistical Studies Group. Do you even know what camp this is Pierce?"

"A Russian Ultranationalist camp," Pierce said, "And your man that was killed, was a traitor to the United States."

"Son you don't have half the facts," the American said, "First off this is a Loyalist camp, which means that we're all the good guys."

The American continued talking to Pierce, who listened, but didn't trust one word from the man. Every so often, Pierce would glance at the two other men in the room, who hadn't said anything since the bag had been removed.

A quick knock, and suddenly the door to the room was swung open. Standing in the doorway was the Russian who had bagged Pierce in the field, still wearing that damned hat. He surveyed the room briefly before walking towards the two in the corner.

"Captain Price," the Russian began in surprisingly decent English, "Nikolai just reported that two of your men, Zach and Robot, have phoned into the safehouse in Istanbul."

The sudden exchange caused the American to stop working on Pierce, and turn in his seat to face the three.

"What do you wish to do Captain Price," the Russian asked.

One of the men, the one called Price turned to the other, "What do you think Soap," he said with a British accent which surprised Pierce.

"Four weeks after our broadcast," the one called Soap said with a clearly distinct Scottish accent, "Seems a little odd to me."

"My thoughts exactly," Price said before taking a deep breath and turning to the Russian, "Give Nikolai the go-ahead, let our boys know where we are."

"Da Captain Price," the Russian said as he turned and exited the room.

"Kamarov," Pierce said as the Russian was shutting the door, "Step up the patrols after you talk to Nikolai."

The Russian nodded as he slammed the door behind him. The American looked at the two British men before turning back towards Pierce and standing up. The three men all began walking towards the door to leave Pierce alone. The two Brits left first, leaving only the American, who turned as he was in the doorway and walked back over to Pierce.

Putting his hand on Pierce's shoulder, the American said, "Tell me Pierce, why was it that your evac bird turned out to be a single gunship."

The American left Pierce's side and joined the two Brits in the hallway. Pierce saw the three walk away as the door was slammed shut. Alone again; where were his men.

* * *

**Okay so quick little chapter here, nothin much happens besides Pierce meeting Price, Soap and Kamarov! I promise next chapter will contain more action, this one was kinda just a little filler to move the story along. **

**Again, tell me what you guys think.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	15. New Friends

**Invasion +7**

**0447 125 Miles Northwest of Russian-Georgia Border**

The five Marines had been in the same room for over twenty-four hours. Except for the occasional ration drop off, they had not interacted with their captors since Pierce had been interrogated by the American and two Brits. The only light in the room dangled from the ceiling, illuminating the room barely, and the few lights in the hallway casted shadows everywhere. The bars that separated the room, well really a cell, from the hallway were genuine steel, nothing the Marines had was going to get through it. The single barred window offered little light except from some distant flood lights that could be seen. The five Marines were all asleep, lying on the floor on five old mattresses that the Russians had scrounged together. There had been little commotion outside the cell and the lack of noise offered some time for the Marines to catch up on sleep that they desperately needed.

A dull clatter woke Pierce from his sleep. Groggily, he opened his eyes and turned towards the hallway. He could vaguely see a shadow moving against the wall opposite their room. He could hear footsteps coming down the hallway, one or two men he guessed as he pushed himself off the ground and sat up. The shadow moved again as the footsteps grew louder.

Pierce got to his feet and kicked at Barnes, hitting him in the side. Barnes let out a groan as he shrugged Pierce's kick off. Pierce nudged him again before Barnes finally grumbled to life.

"What," he said, dragging the question as he was still semi-conscience.

"Somethin's up," Pierce whispered as the footsteps grew louder.

Barnes rolled to his side so he could see the hallway and also noticed the shadow moving as he pushed himself upright. Within several seconds, a figure appeared in front of the bars. The figure was clad in black, and held in his hands what appeared to be a pistol. The barrel of the pistol was enlarged, obviously a silencer, which must have accounted for the clatter that woke Pierce.

The figure stood in the hallway for a second, searching the room for all of the Marines before he raised the pistol up and aimed the barrel towards Pierce's chest. The olive green undershirt that Pierce wore would offer no protection from the bullet as it would cut into his chest any second.

Pierce braced for the impact but before he could feel it, a burst of gunfire echoed through the hallway as the figure crumpled to the floor. The force of the rounds hitting the figure caused his finger to depress, firing a round off wildly as he fell that struck the ceiling near Pierce's head, sending debris falling onto the Staff Sergeant as he ducked his head.

The sudden burst of fire caused all the Marines to be jolted from their sleep. They jumped to their feet as the sound of footsteps echoed through the hallway. Shouts in Russian filled the area as flashlights began sweeping the area, lighting the hall. Within moments, several Russians were in front of the Marines, weapons aimed, lighting them up clear as day. One of the Russians checked the figure that had been shot, blood pooling around the body as he lay on the ground motionless.

The Marines had backed away from the bars, and were now against the wall, putting as much room as they could between themselves and the Russians. It was only a minute or so after the burst of gunfire had woken the compound when English voices could be heard filling the hallway as more footsteps approached.

"Kamarov what the hell happened," a raspy voice called as a figure approached, it was Price.

Kamarov rose to his feet, following his search of the body that he had rolled over, revealing the shooter to be a bald male with stubble covering his face.

"Your man out for a stroll," Kamarov said as he and Price approached each other.

"Zach," Price said as he saw the figures face, stained in blood, "What happened?"

"He killed three of my men," Kamarov said holding the gun in his left hand and handing it to Price, "This isn't from our armory either."

"He was about to fucking shoot us," Barnes blurted out, causing Price, Kamarov and several others to turn and shine more lights on the Marines.

"What'd you say," Soap asked as he appeared from around the corner and stared at Barnes.

"I said the guy was about to fucking whack us," Barnes said, pointing towards the bullet lodged into the ceiling, "See?"

Before anyone could say anything else, Price spoke, "Soap where the hell is Robot?"

"I haven't seen him since twenty-three hundred," Soap responded as he turned to face Price.

A look of concern came over Price's face, "Kamarov put your men on alert, I think we can be expecting visitors soon."

Kamarov shouted several commands in Russian as men began moving around. The Marines however were left in the cell as two guards were posted outside to provide safe keeping for them.

As the two Brits walked away, Pierce could hear Price's voice, "Get Jonas and tear this compound apart, I want to have a word with Robot."

* * *

**0520**

"Stay down," Pierce yelled as gunfire filled the building.

The two Russian guards were crouched on both sides of the hallway firing towards unknown assailants. The two were shouting back and forth as one tried to key a radio for friendlies to assist. The five Marines were hunkered down away from them, pushed back against the wall as they tried to avoid the gunfire.

The Russian next to the cell was shouting into a radio as he changed the magazine for his AK-74 when bullets began exploding the wall next to his comrade, tracing a line across that wall that ended with several rounds ripping into the Russian's chest and neck. His body flung backwards as he began gasping for his last breathes of air as he squirmed on the cold floor.

"Bastards," the remaining Russian yelled in his native tongue, as he fired of two rounds from his AK before being struck himself by several rounds.

The Russian collapsed to the floor, his lifeless body lying in front of the cell. His rifle clattered against the steel bars and fell to the floor. Voices could be heard down the hall and footsteps soon echoed through the hallway. Pierce decided to do something reckless.

He pushed himself away from the group of Marines and dashed toward the dead Russian. He reached his hand through the gaps and strained for the AK. His hand slipped off the stock from the blood that soaked it and quickly reached again as shouts were heard followed by a burst of gunfire that pipped out of a gun; the rounds exploding on the ground around Pierce. Several of the rounds hit the Russian's body, sending fountains of red into the air.

Pierce gripped the AK as he pulled it back into the cell and quickly shouldered the weapon, aiming it towards the direction that the assailants were coming from. Footsteps raced around the corner and in moments, a figure clad in full military gear, black fatigues and balaclava, tactical goggles, and combat vest came around the corner. He didn't expect to find Pierce there with the weapon pointed at him as he raised his weapon, an ACR, towards the Marine.

Pierce didn't hesitate as he fired off two rounds that struck the man, shattering the goggles and staining them red as the man dropped under dead weight. The remaining men following the first man let off a barrage of fire that chipped the walls and sent dust flying in the air around the cell, but none of the Marines were hit as they closed the angle and stayed away from the lines of fire.

Pierce fired off several more rounds as he held the AK out away from his body and pointed the barrel towards the enemies. He couldn't tell if he hit anything but by the returning fire, Pierce figured he pissed them off pretty well.

The noise in the small area was deafening, and it grew louder seconds later as more fire erupted from the right, rounds tearing into the assailants that were firing at the Marines. The gunfire quickly tapered off as Pierce readjusted his position to take fire at the new arrivals. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he waited for someone to come into his view.

"Pierce," a voice called out, "You still with us?"

It was the American. Pierce heard several other voices speaking in English as footsteps could be heard.

"What the fuck is going on here," Pierce demanded.

"We're under attack right now if you didn't notice," the American said, "These guys in black, they're the bad guys."

"How do I know that," Pierce shouted, still not taking his sight away from the corner.

"You're gonna have to trust me Marine," the American said in a calm but commanding voice, "We just saved your ass, so we can't be all that bad can we?"

Pierce thought to himself for a moment before saying, "Alright, come here, slowly."

The American lowered his rifle to his side, letting it hang from a strap and slowly walked towards the corner, extending his hands so Pierce could see he was unarmed. He walked to the front of the cell and looked in at the Marines.

"So, here's what I propose," he began as an explosion rocked the compound outside and the American's team moved past him and secured the bodies, "I let you out, arm each of you, and we get the hell out of dodge before this shit really hits the fan."

"Deal," Pierce said quickly as he lowered his AK. He wanted to get weapons in his men's hands as quickly as possible, and right now, this seemed like their best option. After all, this guy had saved Pierce twice already, maybe he was one of the good guys.

The American bent down and searched one of the Russians and found a set of keys, he unlocked the door and let the Marines out as they quickly went over to the bodies and retrieved weapons and ammo off of the dead men. Pierce was the last out of the cell. The American raised his hand to Pierce's chest and stopped him at his side.

The two met eye to eye, "The name's Snake Doc."

* * *

**Yada Yada Yada, I don't own MW2 or the Unit, but I do own this sick story hah, jk, but really, it's mine.**

**Keep reading and maybe write a review or something, there might be a prize involved?**


	16. Get Outta Dodge

*****Made a few small updates and corrections but also as a message to readers: Finals week is approaching so due to that the next chapter won't be up until Dec 10.. maybe a day or two sooner if you all are lucky... For some reason college profs like handing out idiotic essay assignments in which you are suppose to write a paper about a theme of a paper you already wrote (If you're confused welcome to my life haha). **

**But really, I have a new chapter almost completed, just need time to sit down and finish/polish it but with the amount of work I have in the next ten days it's sketchy at best if I can get a new one out, so bear with me. Thanks to everyone that has been reading and commenting.**

* * *

**Invasion +7**

**0529 125 Miles Northwest of Russian-Georgia Border**

The mixed team of Marines and Army Special Forces moved through the interior of the building towards a door that would lead them outside. They advanced through the hallway, the Army SF team on the left, each clad in MultiCam fatigues, armed with a combination of M4A1s and Bushmaster ACRs, and wired with the latest in intra-team communications.

The Marines on the other side of the hallway looked like a ragtag group of armed men; which, wasn't too far from the truth. They wore only their green undershirts and MARPAT fatigue trousers, having been stripped of everything else after their capture. Armed with a collection of weapons that they had scrounged from the bodies of the Russian Loyalists and mysterious black clad men that had attacked them.

Upon seeing the several bodies of the black cladded soldiers, Pierce was reminded of San Diego, when he had a confrontation with a similarly dressed trooper. He briefly wondered if the man he double tapped through the goggles had been the same.

As they moved through the hallway, Snake Doc raised one of his hands to his ear for a moment before announcing to the group, "We have tangos rushing the perimeter on all sides, rally point for evac is on the other side of the compound."

An explosion rocked the compound, blowing a section of the building away down the hall, exposing the group to the outside and the battle that was growing.

"Damn do they have tanks out there too," Barnes shouted after they recovered from the force of the explosion.

"Negative," one of the SF named Dirt Diver said, "But they have a dozen or so minigun mounted SUVs that they're raining some hell with."

"Oh, well that's a start at least," Barnes sarcastically shouted back before the group continued forward towards the hole.

As they moved towards the recently created hole in the building, the sights of the battle that was enraging around them could be seen. Tracers streaked through the air as Russian forces battled the advancing enemy.

_What a shitty situation_, Pierce thought to himself as he remembered the Marines wore only their green undershirts, which last time he remembered, wouldn't stop a five-five-six or a seven-six-two.

Stopping short of the breach in the wall, the group crouched and regrouped one last time before they joined the engagement outside. After checking their weapons, they seeped through the hole, the Marines going one direction while the American SF team went the other.

Following Barnes through the breach, Pierce spotted a cargo truck sitting motionless. He tapped Barnes' shoulder and motioned for the truck as he shouted. The Marines followed Barnes as he led them to behind the cover of the truck as the oriented themselves with the firefight that was raging around them.

"I got targets three o'clock," Reily shouted as he saw tracers flying towards the Marines above them.

"Mini at our nine," Bowren announced as hundreds of tracers could be seen spewing from a single point.

The minigun mounted SUV was about one hundred and fifty meters from the Marines position. Luckily, the attention of the gunner was directed at the Russian infantry currently engaging it.

The Marines had managed to find themselves caught in a bullet alley. Whoever was attacking was positioned on either side of the team, pouring fire down the open area that separated the building they had been held in, and another large complex that was forty meters from them.

Barnes looked at Pierce who was leaning against the truck next to him, "Eric we're not really going to trust these guys are we?"

The Marines all heard Barnes ask the question and turned to listen for Pierce's response, "Not much more we can do," he shouted over the gunfire and explosions, "But like I said, they've already saved our asses twice."

Satisfied, if only a little, the Marines turned back towards their sectors and searched for targets; which for the first time in a month, were not the armed Russians surrounding them.

The Marines had only been behind the truck for a minute, but it seemed like hours. Loyalist Russian infantry poured from the surrounding buildings, and tried to force the advancing enemy to a standstill. The power of the miniguns were evident to Pierce as he saw a squad of newly arrived Russians cut down by a single burst of rounds spewing from the weapon. The SUV that had fired the burst was quickly destroyed in retribution by the surviving Russians, a flaming haul of the vehicle was all that remained.

"Pierce," a voice shouted over the noise.

Pierce looked around and realized it was Snake Doc who had shouted. He leaned around the cover of the truck and looked towards where the voice came from. Twenty meters away, the American SF team had taken cover behind a low lying wall. Pierce could see several of the shooters in the group taking aim above the wall at the attacking force.

"We need to keep pushing forward," Snake Doc shouted as he saw Pierce's face appear from behind the truck.

Pierce nodded before he turned back towards his Marines, "Alright ladies time for a run."

The four Marines paused and looked back towards Pierce with looks of confusion on their faces.

"You can't be serious can you Eric," Barnes asked as he looked over his shoulder towards Pierce.

"You want to sit here longer," Pierce said, slamming another magazine into his AK.

"I'll get the hell out of here," Reily said after he fired several rounds downrange towards the enemy.

"Let's go, we're oscar-mike," Pierce said as he rushed out from behind the truck.

The four other Marines followed him a second later and the five men dashed across the open area. Keeping as low as they could but moving fast, they darted forward in a single line. The American SF team did the same, as the two groups of Americans mixed with squads of Russian infantry.

Rounds streaked over their heads as they ran while some struck targets, knocking Russians to the ground.

"Shit," Barnes cursed as he jumped to his right to avoid tripping over a Russian who had fallen an instant before, cut down by a round through his neck.

"Let's go," Pierce shouted as the distance between the Marines and the relative safety of the other side minimized with each second.

* * *

"Snake Doc where the hell are you," Price shouted into his mic after he fired three rounds at one of the enemy troops that had appeared from behind a wall.

"Twenty meters to your six," Snake Doc said as he rounded a building and came to a clearing where a large force of Russians were gathered around different vehicles.

"About bloody time," Price said as he dropped his C8 to his side and hustled over to meet the group.

"Well if you wanted it done faster you should have fetched the Marines yourself brother," Snake Doc said as the two veteran operators met.

The Marines and the rest of the American SF team followed behind Snake Doc to the rally point. All took defensive positions facing outwards as the two seniors quickly conferred. About them, Loyalist Russian forces were busy moving wounded comrades away from the battle towards waiting transports and sending able bodied troops to the action.

After several moments interlaced with a half dozen explosions lighting the sky, Price approached the group of Marines, "Get your team on me Pierce, we are leaving."

The Brit continued walking past the group of Marines towards a pair of waiting transport trucks being loaded with wounded. Pierce raised his men and they proceeded to follow the Brit towards the waiting trucks.

"Get your arse's on the truck," Price said flicking his head towards the nearest truck before he turned towards the Russian at his side.

The Russian was hastily loading wounded Russians onto trucks and attending to several wounded comrades on the ground as they were being prepped for transport. Price placed his hand on the Russian's shoulder as he turned.

"Time to leave Kamarov."

"Not for me my friend," Kamarov said as he replaced the wad of gauze he held with an AK-74, "There is much to be done here," an explosion rocked the nearest building as sections of wall began falling on top of Loyalist positions, "Duty calls, I will see you in Stavropol."

With that, Kamarov turned, whistled at several Loyalists and called them to his side as he headed towards the battle. Price turned back towards the truck and saw that the Marines were loaded in the back. He stepped up on the foot bar and reached up towards the side railing to help himself up when Pierce's hand grasped his. The Marine helped pull the Brit up into the truck as the exhaust blew and the vehicle began moving. Price looked into the vehicle and saw that his comrades, Soap and the Americans, were in the truck as well before sitting opposite of Pierce. The two looked at each other for several seconds as the battle raged behind them lighting up the sky.

Finally Pierce leaned forward extending his hand, "Well I guess this means we're on the same team now."

After a moment, the Brit reached forward and shook the Marine's hand, "It appears that way doesn't it."

A faint grin could be seen on Pierce's face as the two leaders continued to observe each other as the convoy of trucks took them far from the battle.

* * *

**Wow a few months later finally get to this, guess that's what college does to you. Any reviews, comments, criticism would be appreciated. I had this chapter halfway completed and just finished it. Depending on responses from you readers I will continue this story, so PLEASE, SAY SOMETHING.**


	17. The New FNG

**Invasion +8**

**1423 Stavropol, Russian Federation**

The convoy had arrived in the city a little over twelve hours before. As they entered the city limits, they were met with a barrage of fire and mortar strikes which turned one of the trucks into a burning hulk of metal that remained on the side of the M-29.

Stavropol had endured several weeks of heavy fighting ever since the war began. Not from Americans or allies, but from Russian Loyalists based in the south of the country. Slowly but surely, that had pushed north from the border but stalled at Stavropol. This presented a problem to the leadership of the Loyalists. They could not simply bypass Stavropol and the important airport that was just north of the city. Originally home to the 218 Aviation Training Regiment, the airport had become home to over thirty-five Su-30 multi-role fighters and an odd assortment of Russian frontline aviation helicopters, both attack and transport. What began as a blitzkrieg north stopped dead in its tracks once the leading elements entered Stavropol city limits.

Pierce found himself being shaken awake by artillery fire that landed nearby. The entire building shook as dust fell from the ceiling onto his face. He groggily raised his head and looked around the room and saw the rest of the Marines doing the exact same thing.

They were in a Loyalist safe house, or, as safe of a house as could be found in the war-torn city. The mundane three story building at the southern district of the city offered protection for being in the heart of Loyalist controlled area. But this location also brought the constant threat of rocket and mortar attacks as well as the occasional aerial attack. These fears weren't that great of a concern for Pierce and the Marines; for they had real beds to sleep in.

"Ugh," Barnes moaned as he sat up in the bed, "What time is it?"

Reily lifted his left arm above his head as he read out the display, "It's fourteen twenty-four."

"Time to get up boys," Bowren said yawning as he stood, "Don't want to keep our new hosts wondering."

There was sufficient moaning and groaning from the Marines but they eventually rose to their feet as the Texan walked about the room smacking Barnes and Reily on their heads. Everyone was on their feet besides Pierce, who still laid in the bed, enjoying each moment of it.

" Bow why don't you go over there and smack Eric," Barnes said as he tied his bootlace up, "His lazy ass is still in bed."

Pierce rolled his head to his right, "Cause I outrank each of you sons of bitches, now go get me some grub Tommy before I have Bow kick your ass."

Barnes looked at the Texan who just grinned, "Damn it," he said as he patted Eckers on the shoulder, "Well lets go get his majesty some food."

The three young Marines exited the room leaving the two senior ranked Devil Dogs in the room. Bowren walked over and sat down at the foot of the bed as Pierce pushed himself to a sitting position.

Pierce exhaled deeply as Bowren began speaking, "So what exactly is the plan here Eric?"

Pierce chuckled before turning his head and looking at the other Marine, "Well we're currently deep in Russia, no one knows we're here," he paused, "Well no friendlies know we're here, and we just got caught up in a Russian civil war," Pierce added after a moment, "And we're with two British soldiers and an Army Es-Ef team."

"Well at least you got me still," Bowren said grinning.

"True," Pierce said as his thoughts engrossed him, "All I know is we need to look after each other, I don't trust anyone yet, even if they did save us twice, we don't know the full story here."

"I hear ya brother," Bowren said as he thought about Pierce's words.

"Alright," Pierce said hitting his hands on his knees before standing up, "Lets go grab some food since Tommy's taking his sweet ass time."

"How he handles half the shit we tell him to do boggles my mind," Bowren laughed.

The two Marines exited the room and headed towards where the others had gone. Artillery shells began to fall at a greater rate as the Marines quickly ate after being told that Price and his associates wanted to speak with them. Although they had their own quarters for the night, the Marines shared the building with a platoon of Loyalist riflemen; ex-Spetsnaz they had been told.

* * *

**1543**

"So you sure you're gonna be alright E," Barnes asked as he handed an M4A1 rifle to Pierce.

"Should be fine, got my kevlar," Pierce said as he smacked the final Velcro strap against his chest, "And my gun," he said retrieving the rifle from Barnes.

The two Marines were on the first floor of the building they had slept in for the night. Twenty minutes before, the Loyalist Spetsnaz captain had informed Pierce that he was going to accompany the two British soldiers on a recon of the battlefield. Pierce wasn't sure what to expect from this new development, but after being told he was going to be armed and fully kitted up, he relaxed, knowing this wasn't an execution stroll.

"This is sketch as hell you know that right," Barnes said as he stood there, hands on his hips as he admired the now fully kitted Marine dressed in a gray fleece jacket under his chest rig.

"Oh I know, but they want to just have a nice little chat, maybe it'll even be a good thing," Pierce said smiling.

"Ya well you watch your ass, gonna be the first time in a while since I'm not out there with you."

"And for some reason all this time I thought it was the other way around."

Barnes chuckled, "I'm serious though bro," he said pausing, "Watch yourself."

"Likewise man," Pierce said as the two shook hands each other before they went their separate ways.

Pierce walked from the room through the several corridors that eventually led him to the street. He was met by a dozen heavily armed Loyalists mulling around a cargo truck that was parked on the street. He recognized several of the Loyalists as the same men that shared the building with him the night before; Pierce gathered that the rest were all Spetsnaz as well.

Stepping down the steps toward the street, he garnered the attention of all of the soldiers on the street. He proceeded to walk down and straight into the crowd of Russians.

"American," a voice shouted from the rear of the truck.

Pierce looked and saw a Russian waving him over. The Marine changed his path and walked toward the Russian where he then saw the two British soldiers.

"Bout bloody time," Price muttered as the Marine stood next to him, "Get some ammo, Kamarov six mags."

The Russian grunted as he turned and began rummaging through several crates on the back of the truck. After a few moments he turned and presented Pierce with six magazines of five-five-six rounds.

"Beautiful," Pierce said taking the magazines before he began stuffing them into the pouches that lined his chest rig, "So where are we going Captain," he asked.

All three of the men stopped what they were doing and looked at Pierce.

"You're all captains aren't you," Pierce said slowly realizing his mistake.

"Quick learner this one," the second Brit remarked.

"Yes well," Price began, "Pierce, this is Kamarov," he said motioning toward the Russian, "Our local Spetsnaz ground commander," turning toward the other Brit, "Captain MacTavish."

_Where have I heard that name before_, Pierce thought to himself.

"I prefer Soap," he said cutting off the elder Brit.

"Don't we all," Pierce said without missing a beat, his humor wasn't shared by the others.

"Right," Price said pausing, "You already know me," he said bowing his head slightly and donning a woodland camo boonie hat.

A Russian appeared at Price's side, almost out of breath. He was greeted by the three before being introduced to Pierce.

"And finally this is Nikolai," Price said.

"Da pleasure to meet you Staff Sergeant," the Russian said, extending his hand to Pierce.

"Same," Pierce said as his hand met the Russian's.

Nikolai spoke again to the group, "Latest intel reports that enemy forces have been reduced to thirty infantry, the rest were recalled to deal with our push in the West District."

"Excellent," Price said turning to Kamarov, "Tell your men we step off in five mikes."

"Da Price," Kamarov said before he walked to the opposite end of the truck.

"Where exactly are we going Price," Pierce asked before he lost the opportunity.

"A hill overlooking the western part of the city, there is an outpost that has been calling in air strikes and artillery for quite sometime," Price began, "We're going to neutralize that threat."

"What are we waiting for then," Pierce asked as he snapped the charging handle back.

* * *

**Okay so I got a chapter out sooner than I thought. Sorry it's short and no action but it's setting the scene for next time.. see how I just tricked you into reading more, clever huh. Guess I should say I don't own MW, MW2 or anything of that sorts, but really, who checks that on here.**

**Thanks to everyone that left comments, that actually convinced me to continue this so good work boys. Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and enjoyed reading, stay tuned for more.**


	18. First Impressions

**Invasion +8**

**1856 Stavropol, Russian Federation**

"Only a platoon huh Nikolai," Price shouted over the barrage of gunfire as he ducked behind a fallen tree trunk.

"Don't blame me my friend, I just relayed what your snipers told me," Nikolai said as he leaned against the trunk and slammed a fresh magazine into his black AK-74.

"I'm gonna tear both of them new asses when this is over," Soap chimed in from several meters away taking cover in a crater.

"Lets just make it to the top of this hill first Soap," Price said before keying his mic and shouting, "Kamarov push that left flank harder!"

On the opposite edge of the forest edge, orders were given and two platoons of Loyalist riflemen pushed forward with more urgency. From his location, Pierce could see the advance begin as well as the hundreds of rounds that were being poured from the tree line by other Loyalists. What originally was to be a quick raid by a small team: the twelve Spetsnaz, Pierce, the Brits, Kamarov and Nikolai, had quickly turned into a large engagement that had required a reinforced rifle company to join the assault.

The Ultranationalist force which was numbered at platoon strength had been reinforced by a company of infantry and several APC's just prior to the arrival of the strike team. The APC's had been dealt with swiftly by several barrages of RPG fire that turned the hulking steel beasts into burning hauls. However over seventy enemy infantry were still in the area surrounding the observatory which sat at the top of the strategic hill.

The two platoons moved about fifty meters before they were stopped in their tracks by heavy fire from the hill and observatory. Snipers could be seen on the outside balcony of the observatory picking off members of the Loyalist platoons one after another.

"Damn it we need air cover, Nikolai," Price said as he turned to the Russian.

"Kamarov's already radioed for it, ETA two minutes," Nikolai replied.

"Don't bother it's here now," Pierce said as he looked back and saw in the horizon a single aircraft skimming above the treetops.

The single aircraft, an AH-6 Little Bird armed with dual heavy machine guns and rocket pods zipped over the battlefield in a fury. The nimble aircraft was a shock to the Ultranationalist forces as their positions were raked with rockets and rounds. The two platoons on the left flank used the opportunity to push forward, advancing further towards the observatory.

"Let's move," Price shouted as he flipped one leg over the trunk and jumped over.

Pierce, Nikolai, Soap, and three Spetsnaz followed the grizzled veteran as they also made their push forward onto the observatory. What was suppose to be a lightening quick raid had turned into an almost hour long firefight with this being the largest advance thus far. The group moved twenty meters before they took cover again behind another fallen tree. The trees in the area were quite old as their fallen trunks provided adequate cover from the incoming fire.

As the group situated themselves behind the trunk, the Little Bird made another run on the observatory; sparks could be seen striking the metal grating of the observatory. As the Little Bird flew over the observatory, a smoke trail exploded from a source behind behind the building and streaked into the fuelsulage of the aircraft. The bird exploded in a ball of fire as it began spinning wildly out of control, crashing into the forest near the observatory.

"Chyort, that was my bird," Nikolai screamed as he rose from cover and fired a long burst at a group of Ultranationalists, cutting them down.

"Easy Nikolai, we'll get you another," Price said, "Alright get ready to pop smoke, we're rushing."

Each member of the group grabbed a grenade from their webbing and threw. The cylindrical grenades sailed through the air and landed intermittently throughout the ground. Several seconds later large clouds of obscuring white smoke clouded the area.

"Alright let's move," Price shouted as he lunged forward.

"Stay close to me American," Nikolai said as they followed Price.

As they battled their way forward, the group took fire from an Ultranationalist sniper in the observatory. Two of the Spetsnaz in the group were downed, each with single shots to their neck before the sniper was located and taken out by a forty millimeter grenade courtesy of Soap.

The remaining members of the group threw themselves up against the observatory wall as they reached it, pressing themselves close to avoid fire coming from the walkways above them.

"Kamarov tell your men to watch their fire, we're entering the observatory," Price commanded as he ejected his magazine and fumbled reaching for a new one.

Pierce was crouched near the wall, rounds cracked all around him as the Ultranationalists above him fired, shells making their way down and landing around him. The Loyalists were in front of him, weapons aimed in his direction yet not shooting at him. He still couldn't believe the last seventy-two hours and the events that had taken place since the airfield which seemed so long ago.

The Marine quickly scanned the area around them, his eyes looked towards Price who was farthest on his left. He saw the British captain mouth a curse as he fumble with his fresh magazine. Pierce saw this and raised his rifle to his shoulder as he turned his body slightly to have the perfect shot. He looked down the sight of the rifle and held his breath.

Price fumbled with the fresh magazine as he tried pulling it from one of the breast pockets on his chest rig. On his second try, he got it and went through the motions to slam it into his rifle. As he stood there holding the magazine in his left hand, he saw the American crouched only a few meters to his right, rifle raised, aiming directly at him. Price opened his mouth to say something but before he could utter a word the rifle fired.

Kamarov's voice filled Price's ear, "Da comrade, we are lifting fire."

Price released his hold on his rifle, letting it fall to his side by the strap. He looked down at his chest and felt his body, searching for a entrance wound: there was none. He looked up at the American who lowered his rifle and looked at Price. Pierce nodded his head as he moved back to the wall. Price turned and saw the body of an Ultranationalist lying on the ground, AK in hand and blood pooling around his neck.

Price turned back to the group, bringing his rifle back up and reloading before he said, "Breach and clear, Soap, pop the flash."

They moved into position near the door, Price holding onto the handle as Soap positioned himself on the opposite side of the door. Price looked at Soap, who pulled the pin on the grenade. The action happened fluidly; as Price opened the door inward a mere foot, Soap threw the grenade through the gap. Before the canister even hit the floor, Price had slammed the door shut. A moment later, a loud bang was heard from inside the building. This gave Price the cue to throw the door open, allowing Soap to enter the building followed rapidly by Nikolai, the Spetsnaz, and Pierce.

"Targets left," Soap yelled as rounds barked from his rifle.

"Three o'clock high," Nikolai shouted as he turned to a catwalk above the team where several Ultranationalists were grouping.

"Targets breaking from cover," Pierce added as he saw several enemy soldiers dart from behind a desk.

A mass of gunfire echoed throughout the observatory as the team breached the building. This only added to the already deafening sound outside of the observatory in the surrounding hillside. Kamarov's platoons had advanced even further onto the observatory and now encircled the building, making sure no Ultranationalists escaped. Four of the remaining Spetsnaz commandos darted from their cover to the breached door that Price and his team entered through several minutes before. They met with the team who were pinned down in the main hall of the building.

"Pierce get ready to move," Price ordered as the Spetsnaz took positions to suppress several Ultranationalist positions.

Pierce nodded as he got ready to move forward with Soap. Nikolai shouted a command and the five other Spetsnaz commandos unleashed a barrage of fire at several locations, allowing a brief dull in incoming fire. They used this lull to move as Pierce and Soap bounded forward followed by Price. The three ran quickly, avoiding the overturned chairs and furniture, Pierce himself hurdling over one of the toppled desks.

The two Brits took cover behind cement columns as the Spetsnaz fire dwindled down as their magazines ran dry, but Pierce continued forward. Less than ten meters separated Pierce from the cover he sought. Cover that was also below two of the Ultranationalist positions.

Pierce let out a guttural yell as he forced his body to the max. As the last round from the Spetsnaz struck the metal in front of the Ultranationalists, Pierce lunged forward, sliding across the floor to a spot underneath the metal grating. As he slid on his hip, he raised his rifle and fired a long burst up through the metal grating floor above him.

The rounds penetrated the three enemy soldiers above him, dropping them as blood spilled through the gaps in the floor. Pierce then shifted to his left as he aimed at a second group of Russians. He emptied his magazine into the group, and as his last shell rattled on the floor, it was accompanied by the dripping of blood from above.

In the meantime, Soap had peered out from behind his column and loosened a forty mike-mike at the final Ultranationalist position. The grenade exploded against the wall behind the position, sending shrapnel into the exposed backs of the enemy troops. Price watched Pierce's actions from behind the column, impressed by the Marine a second time in the past several minutes.

Gunfire echoed but tapered off as they realized there was no more incoming fire. Price came out from behind the cover and shouted several commands. The Spetsnaz moved to secure the Ultranationalist positions as the rest gathered in the center of the room.

"Nice moves Pierce," Price commented as the Marine joined the group.

"Just reliving the glory days," Pierce remarked.

A gunshot rang out as they turned to see one of the Spetsnaz commandos with his rifle raised, pointed at an Ultranationalist laying on the ground, his back propped against a wall.

Nikolai shouted in Russian, to which the Spetsnaz replied in his native language.

"What'd he say," Pierce inquired as Nikolai shrugged to the commando's response.

"They were ordered to take no prisoners," Nikolai said, "Just following his orders."

The silence was quickly broken by Price, "Kamarov, we've secured the building, send your men in to clean this place up, I want to be back in time for dinner."

* * *

**So tell me what you guys think, Pierce is getting some action with 141 boys. If anyone has any suggestions of where they want this to go by all means let me know I'm more than willing to hear you guys. **

**SpiritOfSherwood - You wanted MacMillan to return, was he part of the sniper team mentioned at the very beginning? Questions questions questions hah**


	19. Revelation

**Invastion +8**

**1936 Stavropol, Russian Federation**

The surviving men of the strike team hitched a ride back towards friendly lines thanks to a BTR-80 that Price had commandeered. The ride back took half the time walking would have even though they were forced to dismount twice due to enemy aircraft overhead. The BTR finally arrived at the safe house and the men dismounted. The Spetsnaz went off to a rearming point before they left again to continue an attack while Soap, Price and Pierce headed to the safe house. Inside the building, the four other Marines were found in the kitchen area eating a soup of some sorts.

"Well look what the cat dragged in," Bowren remarked as he stood up from the stool he was on.

"Jesus, you look like shit," Barnes said as he saw Pierce covered in blood and mud.

"Just trying to be like you bud," Pierce grinned as he unslung his rifle and set leaned it against a wall, "What do we got to eat?"

"Beef stew and bread," Reily answered.

Pierce chuckled, "Didn't know we ended up in Stalingrad."

"I'd watch it with that shit here mate," Soap commented about the strong Russian presence in the building.

"Right," Pierce acknowledged before turning back to his Marines, "What have you been doing this whole time?"

"Well you're looking at it," Bowren replied, "Minding our own business really, watched a bit of TV before enemy arty cut that short."

"Sounds like you had your hands full Bow," Pierce remarked as he ladled a bit of soup and tasted it.

"Just another day lookin' after these bastards."

"Hey watch yourself Bow, don't make me kick your ass," Barnes said sternly.

The Marines couldn't help themselves as they laughed at the prospect of Barnes kicking anyone's ass, let alone Bowren's. Price appeared again at Pierce's side followed by Soap, both without their combat gear.

"Pierce a word with you," Price asked.

"Suppose I can that sir," Pierce replied as he turned and followed the two British captains out of the kitchen and upstairs.

Price led them to a room on the second floor of the building and opened the door, letting Soap and Pierce enter before he shut the door.

"Take a seat Pierce," Price said as he took a seat behind a wooden desk in the room, which was obviously an office or study to the previous occupant.

"What's this about Price, am I in some sort of trouble," Pierce asked as he took a seat across the desk from Price, with Soap standing in the corner of the room.

"None at all, actually we've discussed this," Price said nodding towards Soap, "And we feel that to build trust amongst us new friends, we should lay everything on the table, both parties."

"Alright, lets hear it," Pierce said as he leaned back in the chair and folded his arms, waiting to hear the story.

"Five years ago Soap joined my team in the 22nd SAS just prior to the war," Price began, "He and I were the only surviving members of a joint SAS-Marine strike team sent in to retake a ballistic missile facility that had fallen under control of Imran Zakhaev."

Soap continued, "During our escape we were cornered on a bridge; caught between a several hundred foot drop and Zakhaev's forces. Griggs went down first," Soap paused as the events replayed in his head, "Then Zakhaev personally executed Gaz leaving only Price and myself."

"I slid this pistol to Soap," Price retrieved an M1911 from his leg holster and held it up.

"And I doubled tapped that bastard square between the eyes," Soap said coldly as he stared at Pierce, "It turned into a cluster fuck after, Price and I got separated, thought he was dead for five bloody years."

"We saved over forty million Americans that day, and lost practically everyone we knew," Price said as he set the pistol on the desk, "And they threw me in a bloody gulag to rot."

"What has that got to do with our predicament now," Pierce asked.

"I killed the hero of the new Russia," Soap said plainly.

"Have you heard of a man named Vladimir Makarov," Price asked.

"Yeah, that terrorist that's been running around Europe for the last decade bombing whatever he pleases," Pierce answered.

"And the one responsible for the massacre at Zakhaev International Airport about a month ago," Price finished.

Soap began, "Two years ago, I was recruited, along with men from the 22nd, SEALs, Delta, and other special forces groups from around the world to form a certain task force to hunt Makarov down and kill him."

"And I'm assuming you haven't if he massacred an airport last month," Pierce said.

"We had actionable intel about an operation, so our CO decided to put a man undercover in Makarov's cell, a Ranger named Joseph Allen."

"But the news reports said it was an American terrorist group, Makarov wasn't involved in it," Pierce said, relying on information he heard from news sources.

"That's exactly what they wanted, America to be at fault," Price corrected, "That's the whole reason the war was started, because of a lie, and it wouldn't be the last."

"Our unit began tracking down the arms shipments of munitions used in the attack to Brazil, but it proved useless," Soap said, remembering tackling Rojas off the two story shack, "Now there was one man who Makarov hated more than anything, and he was being held in a gulag in Russia," Soap said turning towards Price.

"Five years I spent in that Hell," Price said as he looked at Pierce, but was staring off, remembering the horrors of that place.

"After we rescued Price, we were able to narrow down Makarov's location to one of two places, a junkyard in Afghanistan or a safehouse in Russia. Price and I went to Afghanistan while another team went to Russia."

"That's where we all were betrayed by our CO, General Shepherd," Price concluded.

"That's where I know you from," Pierce said as he leaned forward in the chair, "You're the two that murdered him, hell you're both traitors!"

"Farthest thing from it," Price said, "Talking about traitors, does killing your own men, then burning their bodies in some God forsaken field count as a traitor; does instigating a war that killed thousands of your own countrymen count as being a traitor?"

"Shepherd used both Makarov and the task force to his own benefit, then tried to get rid of both of us," Soap said.

"Ask yourself Pierce, truly ask yourself, if we were war criminals and traitors, why are you still here," Price asked.

This struck a chord in Pierce as he leaned back and thought for a moment before answering, "That's a good point, I don't know why, change of heart?"

"We look at you, and we see ourselves, just another pawn in the grand game," Soap said.

"So, we just laid all our cards, time for you to," Price said, "I want to know everything from when you were first given the mission to assassinate Ryan."

"Alright here it goes," Pierce said exhaling, "Five days ago, we were in Dal'negorsk with the invasion force, my team and I were called away from the fighting, and I ended up meeting with two men aboard the _Reagan_."

"Names of the men," Soap asked.

"The one who spoke the entire time was a Marine colonel named Lawrence," Pierce recalled the meeting, "The other one hardly said a word, I never got a name but I figured he was CIA."

Soap inquired further, "What did this Lawrence look like?"

"I'd say mid forties, short grey hair, grizzled face," Pierce rattled off features.

Soap turned to Price, "That's Lynch, Shepherd's second in command."

"Lynch," Pierce asked, as he knew the man by Lawrence.

"Yes, he has a few different names but it's Lynch, Preston Lynch, and he's a colonel in the Army, not Marines," Soap informed him, "This other character, the spook what was he like?"

"Younger, early to mid-thirties, slick black hair, could be from SAD, looked ex-military," Pierce reported.

"Hmm, bollocks can't think of who it would be," Soap said.

"Can't put a name to him either," Price agreed.

"So what's that mean then," Pierce asked, "You guys are going after Lynch now?"

"That's precisely what it means," Price said standing up from the desk and placing the pistol back in the holster.

"What about me and my men then," Pierce protested as the Brits both moved towards the door.

The two stopped and Price spoke, "Well Pierce, we're going to try to get our lives back and kill every fucker that steps in our path."

"Lynch knows everything about you and your men at this point, and he is going to assume you're alive until he sees you lying in front of him with a nine mil in your forehead," Soap added.

"So your options are somewhat limited; you could go out on your own, we won't keep you here, but your chances are significantly cut down if you choose that, or you can join us, finish this and set things right."

Pierce waited for a moment as he sat turned around in the chair looking at the Brits before he stood, "Where to now?"


	20. Stalking Ivan

_**Wow, three chapters in as many days, you have to admit that is slightly impressive. That also means with all the new material everyone, yes EVERYONE should leave a review lol, it's the nice thing to do especially during the holiday season.**_

* * *

**Invasion +11**

**2129 Krasnodar, Russian Federation**

"I need to know if you're willing to do whatever is necessary," Price asked Pierce as they sat in the back of the van which had just entered the city limits.

Pierce looked at the Brit, hardly able to make out his face in the pitch black, "If it's standing between me and getting my men home, I'll do whatever it takes."

"Good, that's good Pierce," Price said as he reached down and retrieved a bag, removing two pistols.

He handed one to Pierce and set the other in his lap as he went back into the bag, fishing out other compliments to the pistols.

"Five-seveN, courtesy of some friends," Price began as he twisted the suppressor onto the barrel of the pistol, "Forty rounds, God willing we won't need them all."

Pierce attached the suppressor to his pistol and slid one of the magazines into the grip. He stashed the other in one of his pockets that lined the leather jacket.

"Remember," Price began, "We want to take him alive, but weapons are free other targets."

* * *

"Pierce you see him exiting," Price's voice filled the ear piece.

"Roger, brown jacket, black hat moving east," Pierce replied.

"Affirmative, stay on him but keep your distance, twenty meters."

"Copy," Pierce said as he stepped out from the alley he was posted up in.

They had been waiting outside the bar for forty-five minutes. Their target entered the establishment and had a drink or two with several associates who left in the opposite direction. They would be tracked by the other team. Pierce was now focused on the man that was walking down the street twenty meters in front of him.

Price had gotten atop the building opposite of the bar and from his vantage point saw the target exit. He was now moving across the rooftops above the target keeping an eye out on Pierce as well.

As Pierce walked down the street, he tried to avoid drawing attention to himself. The street was alive with activity as the drinking crowds moved about the town. He tried to act as if he belonged there. He stepped aside of the drunks that were swaying back and forth on the sidewalk, not wanting some belligerent drunk challenge him to a fight.

Pierce looked back at the drunks he had passed as one fell into a trash can on the street. As he returned to looking ahead he keyed his mic.

"Trouble approaching," he whispered.

A group of a half dozen blondes and brunettes were walking straight towards the Marine, laughing and enjoying their time on the town. Pierce smiled at the ladies while they eyed him up head to toe as they passed each other. Two of the blondes turned again for a second look after Pierce passed them, whispering to each other before they turned back with their friends.

He knew they had looked again, wasn't the first time it happened to the young Marine, but he was reminded as Price commented from above, "I think those two were sisters."

"Wasn't following this guy I'd tell you if it were true in morning," Pierce remarked with a slight grin as he looked up towards the rooftops.

"Cheeky bastard," Price laughed, "Keep your head straight mate."

Pierce had followed the target through the several side streets in the city until he reached a bridge going over one of the rivers that cut through the center of the town. He stopped and sat at one of the benches overlooking the flowing river as the target walked towards the bridge.

A figure appeared behind Pierce and took a seat next to the Marine, startling him, "Good work, not bad for your first tail."

"I don't see why we didn't snag him right here in an alley," Pierce protested as he put both his hands together and blew on them trying to stay warm.

"Want to see if he has any friends he could lead us to," Price said as the target walked across the bridge towards the middle.

"Like these guys," Pierce nodded as a car slowed and pulled up next to the target on the bridge.

As they observed from the bench, the target approached the car and talked to the drive through the passenger side window before opening the door and getting in. The car then accelerated as it drove across the bridge back towards the side Pierce and Price were on. The car turned right and drove directly behind the bench they were sitting on.

After it had passed, Price keyed his mic, "Nikolai, target's mobile, we need transport now."

* * *

Nikolai had picked the two up in the van within a minute of the target passing the bench. Nikolai navigated the streets of the city expertly as he avoided the drunks walking about town. The last thing they needed was to hit a drunk and have the local militia get involved.

They followed the car out past the city limits and into the country. The abandoned stretch of land would have made them stick out like a sore thumb but they had planned for this; Nikolai was driving with the aid of NVGs which allowed him to avoid using the headlights. The only thing that would give them away would be the brake lights at the rear, so before they left the city, Price had smashed out both the lights.

They trailed the car for twenty minutes into the countryside before it finally pulled down a dirt road which led to a house and private lake. The property was surrounded by a thick forest which made it difficult to see the house from the road. Nikolai drove the van another kilometer down the road before driving off the road and parking it just inside the forest. As the three left the van, they grouped around the hood of the van.

"Soap, this is Price, do you copy?"

After several moments Soap's voice came alive in each ear piece, "Copy that Price, where'd you run off to?"

"Lakeside house about thirty kilometers northwest of town," Price began as Nikolai tossed a large duffel bag onto the hood, "We're going in quiet, bring up your team and provide security on the road, no one in or out."

"Copy that, we'll be there in ten, out."

"Right, Nikolai what do we have in the bag," Price said turning to the others.

"Night vision optics," Nikolai began as he handed Price and Pierce equipment, "A banger each, and some toys for later," Nikolai finished as he looked at Price smirking.

"Alright we approach the house together, five meter spread," Price said, "After that we split up, I'll take the back, Nikolai front, Pierce through the side, weapons free on all targets."

"Even the primary," Pierce asked.

"As long as he's alive in the end," Price said, "He can have a round or two in the leg."

The three men equipped the night vision optics and turned towards the house; Price in the center, Nikolai on the left and Price on the right. Through the green tint, Pierce could see the Russian pine forest quite clearly. It reminded him of over a week ago when his MARSOC company was infiltrating the airfield several thousand miles away.

Now he walked, Five-seveN in hand, held in front of him pointed down as he stepped as quietly as possible through the forest. After walking for ten minutes, he could finally see the white flares of the external lights on the house. They stopped just short of the tree line and knelt for several more minutes, observing the house to see what they could quickly gather about enemy strength.

Crouched behind a large bush, Pierce surveyed the house and could see nothing in the windows. Nikolai reported that he saw three tangos inside by keying his mic three times, sending three bursts of static to each ear piece. As Pierce swayed his head he caught movement to his right. He turned his head and saw two tangos walking towards him fifteen meters away and closing.

The two men were armed with AK-74s slung over their shoulders, this would give Pierce the several second cushion he would need for what he did next. They were now ten meters away, chatting to each other and enjoying a smoke, not aware of what lay in front of them. Pierce checked his Five-seveN and clicked the safety off as he stood and took aim at the first tango.

An infrared laser invisible to the naked eye, projected from under the barrel of the Five-seveN and hit the first man just under his right eye. Pierce standing up made him visible thanks to the external lights of the house that flooded the area with light; guess that's why they call them flood lights.

The tango who was targeted saw the figure in front of him, but before he could move a muscle to unsling his rifle, Pierce fired. The Five-seveN coughed and a round exploded through the tango's head, sending blood, brain matter, and fragments of skull showering across the grass behind him.

The second tango had not seen Pierce, only his comrade's brains being blown out the back of his head. He barely had time to watch his partner fall to the ground before he himself was struck by a round cutting through his neck. A waterfall of blood began gushing from the wound as he fell dead next to his comrade.

Quickly Pierce keyed the mic, "Two tangos down in the open, we need to move."

Price replied as he stood and moved towards the back of the house, "Copy get into position and move in at will."

The three men quickly moved towards their breach points, Pierce dashed across the lit ground as fast as he could, pulling the night vision optics off his head so as not to be blinded by the light. He reached the house and threw himself against the siding. Inside, he could hear several sets of voices.

"Nikolai, gimme a distraction from the front," Pierce quickly whispered, "I can surprise them from the side."

"Da, one moment," Nikolai responded.

Pierce waited several seconds near the door when a crash from inside could be heard and the several voices raised their tones. Pierce reached up with his left hand and swung the door our and slid through the opening.

He entered the kitchen area of the house, several stools and tables were insides along with all the usual appliances of a kitchen. Three men were moving in the opposite direction of Pierce when he entered; each was carrying a weapon or retrieving it from a shoulder sling. None of them were wearing the brown jacket of their primary target. Pierce raised his Five-seveN and drew a bead on the closest tango. He fired the third round of his magazine at a tango who held an Uzi submachine gun in one hand and a radio in the other. The round struck the man in the back near the spine. Pierce quickly fired another round that struck almost where the first had. The man dropped, spinning to the ground, hitting one of the chairs and taking it clattering to the ground.

Pierce didn't follow the man as he fell, instead moving to a second target who was turning back to face the mysterious shooter who just killed a comrade. The man raised his rifle and tried to aim at the shooter; however, it was too late as he too was struck by a round in the shoulder. Another impacted near his heart, his shirt puffing in the air as the round tore through his clothing and flesh.

The force of the rounds impacting send impulses through his body as he depressed the trigger on his AK, firing wildly into the ceiling as he fell to the ground. Pierce dove to his left behind cover of one of the islands in the kitchen to avoid the bullets.

By this time, the third was fully alerted to the shooter behind him and had drawn a bead on where Pierce had dove to. The tango fired, burst after burst struck the wood and granite counter top as he kept Pierce suppressed behind cover. The tango began angling himself around the kitchen to get a shot at Pierce who was still stuck behind the counter.

As he walked across the kitchen, he finally got the drop on Pierce, lining him up in his sights. Pierce saw this as he looked to his right, realizing he should have moved quicker. There was no time to raise his pistol to shoot back, his eyes met the tango who's were filled with fury.

As the tango went to pull the trigger and put several rounds into the helpless Marine, his life was snuffed by a round that entered the left side of his head and exited just above his right ear. He dropped to the floor instantly as his brain matter was sprayed against a painting hanging on the wall.

"Pierce you still with me," Nikolai's voice rang out.

"I'm here," Pierce said as he rose from behind the counter and saw the Russian entering the kitchen from one of the doorways.

"Are you hit," Nikolai asked as he moved about the kitchen and checked one of the darkened rooms that was attached to the kitchen area.

"I'm fine, just a close encounter," Pierce said, "Any sign of the target?"

"Negative, took out two tangos but no sign of the primary," Nikolai said as he reappeared in the kitchen.

"Upstairs it is then," Pierce said as he spotted the stairwell in the other room.

However, before Nikolai could respond, the sound of glass shattering could be heard from above and a figure fell from the second floor landing on the yard outside the kitchen. Pierce could see the brown jacket the figure wore as he got up from the ground and began running into the darkness towards the lake and boathouse.

"Shit that's him," Pierce shouted as he ran back towards the door, kicking it open and running in the direction of the lake.

"Price, the primary is moving towards the boathouse," Nikolai said as he ran out the door after Pierce.

There was no response, "Price, this is Nikolai, I say again the target is moving to the boathouse!"

So began the chase to the boathouse which lay about two hundred meters from the house, connected by a path of wood-chips. The target had about thirty meters on Pierce who was leading Nikolai by another fifteen. Price still had not answered leading the two to believe he had been captured or killed.

The boathouse was little more than a shed attached to the end of a dock. Housed inside the shed was a speedboat; not one of the fancy racing ones, but one that would provide quick getaway if needed. There was a single floodlight attached to the top of the shed which illuminated the entire area at the end of the dock which was thirty meters from the shore.

The target was quick, reaching the dock in record time and rushing across the wooden surface towards his escape. Pierce reached the dock but was still at least twenty meters behind the target. Instead of continuing his pursuit, Pierce stopped and took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself. He raised his Five-seveN and tried to draw a bead on the target. This was complicated by his heavy breathing which caused his arms to sway.

The target was close to reaching the shed, at that point he would have no shot. Pierce took another deep breath and centered the bead on the target's lower back. Nikolai had caught up to Pierce as the Marine stood there taking aim with the pistol. As Pierce drew his finger onto the trigger, the target was hit by an object that sent him to the deck hard.

A figure emerged from the shed holding a two by four in hand. The light above him showed the figure to be Price; who threw the wooden plank into the water before kneeling down and punching the target. Nikolai and Pierce both began jogging down the dock to the boathouse.

"Nikolai you have the bag," Price questioned as the two stopped several feet from the target lying unconscious on the dock.

"Right here," Nikolai said as he pulled a black bag from one of his pockets and tossed it to Price.

"Perfect," Price said as he caught the bag and proceeded to throw it over the head of the target and tightened it, "Nikolai go bring the van around and get the toys."

"Da, I'll be back before you know it," Nikolai said as he took off back down the dock and disappeared into the woods where they had came from.

Price had bound the target's hands with flex-cuffs before finally looking at Pierce, "That got the blood pumping didn't it?"

Pierce just chuckled as tried to hide his deep breaths from the older soldier.

Price keyed the mic, "Soap, we have the target, how's your end holding up?"

At the road, Soap and the other four Marines had hidden themselves away in the tree near the driveway, ready for anyone that might try to interrupt their party.

"We're set here," Soap answered as he laid down in the tree line, "Let you know if there are any guests."

"Copy that, out," Price said before reaching down and grabbing the target's arm and pulling him up, "Help me get this bastard into the house."


	21. Whispers in the Night

**Okay so I decided to start this chapter off back in MW4 times, Pierce is just a lowly Marine. I think I mentioned in earlier chapters how he lost a lot of friends during the war, so these flashbacks will show how that happened.**

* * *

_**Five Years Before**_

_**Day 3**_

_**1730 Seventy Miles Southeast of Capitol City**_

_"We're thirty seconds out," the platoon commander yelled through the cabin of the Ch-46 Sea Knight, "Command has updated our ROE, we are now weapons free on _all_ targets."_

_A Marine leaned over and shouted, "That's what I'm talking about!"_

_The other Marine turned to see who shouted, "Oo-fuckin-rah baby," he turned to another Marine huddled next to him, "You ready Easy?"_

_Lance Corporal Eric Pierce turned, "Born ready," he said before turning back towards the rear ramp and checking his M4A1 one last time._

_"Five seconds," the platoon commander yelled as the __brewing _dust storm completely engulfed the aircraft.

_The rear ramp went down and the twenty-four men of 2nd Platoon raced out of the Sea Knight into the sand storm sweeping the area. The small hamlet they had just landed near was composed of a dozen mud and brick buildings and several outer lying barns. Intelligence had pinpointed this location as the latest hideout of Hassan Dostum, a financial backer and arms supplier of Khaled Al-Asad. For this reason, Charlie Company had been dispatched to the hamlet with orders to capture him, though these had just been updated to capture/kill._

_As soon as Pierce's boots hit the dirt, he took off running in the same formation they had practiced hundreds of times before. He followed the Marine in front of him as they broke off from the ramp at a forty-five degree angle to the right._

_Pierce had trouble seeing the Marine in front of him even with his combat goggles fit snug on his face. The sandstorm limited a person's sight to only a few feet; the distance between Pierce and the leading Marine. The dirt and sand swirling from rotor wash struck Pierce's exposed skin, making him feel like a hundred needles were stabbing him, though the shemagh he had wrapped around his neck and face protected his mouth from the stabbing pains._

_After moving a dozen or so meters from the Sea Knight, the Marine in front of Pierce dove down to a prone position. Pierce followed this movement as he took a spot next to the Marine, his team leader Sergeant Jones._

_The Marines from the platoon did the same as they secured their landing zone and took defensive positions before the Sea Knight rose into the air thirty seconds after first touching down. The dust storm settled quickly after the Sea Knight gained altitude and the Marines were given the order to move onto the hamlet, which lay just over a hundred meters in front of them._

_As Pierce pushed himself up, he looked to his right and then to the air quickly before turning and shouting to Jones, "Where the hell's the rest of the company?"_

_Jones noticed that they were also missing roughly fifty other Marines that should be assaulting the hamlet from two other directions, "Two-Actual, Two-Two where are our sister platoons?"_

_"Be advised team leaders," the platoon commander began, "1st and 3rd Platoons have been called off for an assault on the Capitol City."_

_"Well there's your answer," Jones said as he raised his rifle and looked down the scope as he ran, "We got foot-mobiles, twenty plus."_

_The team ran another ten meters before hitting the dirt again as a rocket exploded in front of the advancing Marine force. The Marine guns opened up for the first time as hundreds of five-five-six rounds tore into the hamlet, now less than fifty meters in front of them. Jones unleashed a forty from his M203 which spiraled into an open doorway where muzzle flashes were seen from. The resulting explosion sent debris flying in every direction as the mud hut was destroyed._

_"Yeah Sergeant," Harris yelled as he saw the resulting explosion._

_Private First Class Harris was the team's SAW gunner, an expert with the light machine gun, he was laying down accurate suppressing fire against the hamlet which allowed the two other fireteams to bound forward._

_Pierce scanned the hamlet for a target and found one who kept poking his head up over a low wall and firing bursts at the Marines. Pierce looked down the scope mounted on his M4 as he placed the red dot on the spot where the tango kept appearing._

_It seemed like an eternity before he rose again but Pierce was ready. He pulled the trigger and before the tango could fire, his head had turned to a pink mist. Pierce looked away from the scope and when he did, Jones was already shouting at the team._

_"Let's move ladies we're up," Jones shouted as he pushed himself off the ground and began rushing forward._

_"Harris, Weaver move," Pierce also shouted to the two remaining Marines of the team as they continued to lay down fire at the enemy in the hamlet._

_As Pierce ran, bullets hissed all around him but none seemed to find the Marine's body. Before he knew it, he was up against the outer wall of one of the buildings, stacked up in formation between Harris and Weaver. Looking back out at where they had just came from, Pierce saw one mass lying face down in the sand. A Marine from the other squad had taken a round just underneath the brim of his helmet; it was painless._

_Pierce turned back to the formation, as the other two fireteams of the squad had reached the outer wall. Jones shouted several commands at the other two elements and within seconds, one was going over the wall while another entered a different doorway._

_"Get ready," Jones yelled, "Harris do it."_

_"Flash out," the PFC yelled as he hurled a flash grenade into the doorway._

_The explosion shook the area and left Pierce partially deaf in his right ear; he hadn't covered it fully. No matter, he still had a job to do as Jones shouted and moved into the doorway, firing several times before even entering the building itself._

_

* * *

_

**Invasion +12**

**0117 Krasnodar, Russian Federation**

Pierce had been waiting in the kitchen for forty minutes already, and no matter what he tried doing he couldn't entirely mask out the screams of the man in the other room. Price had told him this would happen, and even though Pierce knew he was going to have to get his hands dirty if he ever wanted to go home, he still could not adjust to the screams.

A bloodcurdling scream was the tipping point. Pierce got up from the stool he was on and entered the other room and walked up the stairs to the second level. Maybe the extra distance would cut the sound down.

The second level of the house was nothing more than a loft with two rooms, one a study and the other a bathroom. Since he didn't need to relieve himself, Pierce instead went to the study, an average sized room with nothing special in it. A desk, several cabinets, a chair, and a laptop were all that occupied the space. Thankfully, as Pierce discovered upon investigating, he found that it was a leather desk chair, and it was worth every penny or ruble the former owner had paid for it. The Marine sank into it as he relaxed at the desk; a double bonus as the screams and shouts were now less audible, if only slightly.

Out of curiosity, he began flipping open the folders that were scattered about the desk. The majority of it was in Russian; a lost cause to attempt to read as Pierce had only just learned a few words and phrases in the language from Nikolai. He set those folders aside, most of which looked to be reports and documents; maybe they would be valuable to someone that could read them. As he pulled another folder to him, his arm knocked into the mouse that was buried on the desk.

A mechanical clicking and whirring noise came from laptop as the screen turned blue for several seconds before loading the desktop which was a rather raunchy picture of two blondes performing an act that their fathers would frown upon.

As distracting as the background was, Pierce ignored it after seeing that the laptop was displayed in English and there were a dozen or so files saved to the desktop with names that immediately drew attention. Intrigued by the titles of the files, Pierce opened several and began skimming through them.

After several minutes, Pierce stood up and picked the laptop up, making sure to grab the power cord that was plugged into the wall. He brought the computer downstairs back to the kitchen and set it on the counter, plugging it into a wall socket incase it were to want to die, possibly losing the data.

Making sure it would survive for a few minutes without him watching over it, Pierce left the kitchen and walked through the house towards the closed door where the screams were coming from. Before he got close enough to knock, the door swung open and Price emerged from the brightly lit room.

"Everything in place out here," he questioned as he exited the room.

"Yeah, surprised you can't smell it," Pierce said as he motioned around him to the gasoline smell that had subtly filled the house.

"I'm getting old mate, not as sharp as I used to be," Price said as he walked past Pierce.

Catching a glimpse of inside the room, Pierce saw the man they had captured tied to a chair in the center of the room. His face was nearly beaten to a pulp, blood staining his white shirt he wore. Nikolai had finished stuffing several wires into the black duffel bag he had on a table when he turned back to the restrained man.

He was barely alive, oblivious to his surroundings but he must have known what was coming. Nikolai turned from the bag to face the man, pistol in hand. It happened like that, as Nikolai raised the pistol to the side of the man's head. The elongated barrel of the suppressor made the gun appear larger than it was. The tip of the gun was an inch from the man's head, just above his ear, or where his ear would have been.

Without hesitation, Nikolai pulled the trigger, a small cough as blood sprayed against the floor and wall. The man's body went completely limp as blood gushed out of the wound. Nikolai turned back and finished packing the bag. It all happened in several seconds and Pierce turned and followed Price back into the kitchen, trying to not think about what he just saw.

"I was upstairs and found this laptop," Pierce began as Price saw the computer sitting on the counter and walked over to investigate it, "Found some pretty interesting things on it."

"Better take it with us then," Pierce said as he looked up from the screen.

The expression on his face told Pierce everything. The dozen or so file names had drawn Price's eyes as well and clearly they meant something important to the British captain. Footsteps were heard in the hallway and Pierce turned to see Nikolai entering the kitchen carrying the duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

"I'll be loaded in two minutes," the Russian said as he walked out the door Pierce had busted in through an hour before.

"Pierce," Price said as he walked towards the Marine, "The computer's your responsibility, make sure it gets loaded and stays alive."

Pierce nodded as he walked back to the counter and collected the laptop before leaving the house and walking to the van. Nikolai had finished loading the vehicle and slammed the rear doors shut as Pierce appeared next to him. The Marine set the computer in the front seat of the van as Nikolai entered the driver's seat and turned the key, starting the ignition.

Price was last to leave the house, walking several meters outside the door before turning around and looking at the door. Pierce grabbed an object from the front seat and walked to the Brit's side.

"So what'd he tell us," Pierce asked as Price lit a cigar and took a long drag.

He threw the lit match to the ground, stomping it out. Then, without saying a word, Price grabbed the object from Pierce. He struck it and the flare erupted in a fountain of red flame. He then threw the flare into the kitchen, the device sliding across the tiled floor aided by the gasoline that had recently been poured. Flames erupted as the fire spread throughout the house, following the path of the poured gasoline.

Price turned and took a step towards the idling van, "I'll tell you on the ride back."

The van left the house, which was now ablaze in the night sky. It would be completely engulfed if not destroyed by the time anyone reached it. The van turned left after reaching the road, keeping distance behind a second vehicle that was waiting for them which contained Soap and the Marines. The two vehicles drove off starting their long journey back to Stavropol. Price was fine with the long journey; it gave him all the more time to read over the files on the laptop.


	22. Ambush

**Invasion +12**

**0935 South of Loyalist Lines**

**Stavropol, Russian Federation**

The team had traveled all night to make it back to the Loyalist-held city. After dodging the sporadic security vehicles and checkpoints, they had finally made it to the rendezvous point. No one said it, but they all felt safer traveling in a convoy of two BTR-90s and transport trucks loaded with two squads of infantry.

Inside the lead van, Price had just finished looking over the last document stored on the laptop. In the back of the vehicle, Pierce was laying against an ammo crate, finally falling asleep after several hours of bouncing around the Russian countryside. The British captain turned and saw Pierce's uncomfortable position and chuckled to himself, envious of the sleep he himself was deprived of.

Nikolai glanced back and saw the American was asleep before he turned back to the road, "So what do you think of our new friend Price?"

Price waited a moment as he stared towards the transport truck the van was following, "He seems like a good kid," he started, "bloody hell of a fighter too."

"Da," Nikolai replied.

"Just a pawn though," Price started, "Pierce, his team, the One-Four-One, all just pieces in the game."

"Makarov is running out of pieces though."

"That he is," Price said tapping the top of the laptop, "and we know his next move."

The two looked at each other and shared the look, knowing that soon it would all be over. Ahead of them, inside the lead transport, several of the Loyalist Spetsnaz could be seen joking around, laughing, and smoking.

The calm ended with a bang.

A huge fireball could be seen in front of the transport as several rockets impacted against the side of the armored vehicle. Smoke trails could be seen leading back to several of the buildings that lined the road of the small town.

Rifle fire then raked through the transport. The canvas flaps could be seen jumping around as rounds tore through the open topped vehicle. The Spetsnaz that moments before were laughing were now being cut apart as they tried to find cover that didn't exist.

It didn't matter as the transport slammed into the rear of the burning BTR. Nikolai quickly cranked the wheel as the van narrowly missed becoming part of the pile up. Unfortunately, the van careened into a ditch, sending Price flying forward into the windshield and slamming Pierce around in the back.

* * *

Pierce groggily came to in the back of the van, which was now tipped on its side. He looked forward and saw Price leaning against the dashboard, eyes shut and blood dripping from his head.

As his eyesight became clearer, his hearing also came back and he was welcomed with a loud volume of gunfire and explosions.

"Price," Pierce yelled as he threw some debris off of him, "Price, wake the fuck up!"

He stumbled to his feet and moved towards the front of the van.

"Nikolai, Price," Pierce shouted again moments before a half dozen rounds ripped through the metal frame of the van.

Pierce instinctively dove down to avoid anymore incoming fire. He crawled forward and placed his hand on Price's neck, checking his vitals as he shouted his name. The blood had stained the dashboard and was pooling on the floor of the van.

"Price come on, wake up," Pierce shouted after he found the Brit had a pulse.

A groan came from the driver side of the van as Nikolai moved slightly.

"Shit," Pierce exclaimed as he moved to the other side to check the Russian, "Nikolai can you move?"

Nikolai let out a loud guttural sound as he moved, "Da, but my leg is in bad shape," he said as he saw his left leg was soiled with dark red.

"Okay, we gotta tie that off," Pierce began as he looked about the interior of the van, "Do you have anything up there?"

After searching for several moments, Nikolai answered as he found a jacket and tore a strip off and began tying the fabric around his wound.

Pierce again then tried to wake Price up, "Nikolai what the hell happened?"

Nikolai groaned as he pulled himself from his seat and crawled into the back of the van, "Ambush."

Outside of the van, the intensity of the battle hadn't subsided. Gunfire was constant, with explosions echoing every so often showering the top of the van with debris. Rounds again tore through the van, puncturing holes on both sides as both Pierce and Nikolai pressed themselves down against the floor.

"Here my friend," Nikolai said hitting Pierce with an object, "Take it."

Pierce reached and grabbed the pistol passed to him, checked to see if a round was chambered and looked back at Nikolai.

"What now," he asked.

Before Nikolai could answer, the rear doors of the van were swung open. Pierce brought his hand to his face to cover his eyes as he was blinded by the sunlight. Underneath his palm, he could see two figures appear in the door.

* * *

**Well it has been a year since I last updated this. Hopefully someone out there still reads this. I got the urge to continue this after playing through the new MW3, gotta say I was a little disappointed that they killed practically everyone off. I know this is sort of a teaser but I want to at least get the word out there that this story wasn't dead yet. I got some ideas for the next couple chapters so just bear with me and I'll try to get some quality material out there for you all.**


	23. Ambush II

**Invasion +12**

**0947 South of Loyalist Lines**

**Stavropol, Russian Federation**

The rear of the van swung open and two figures stood, silhouetted by the sunlight behind them. The sounds of the raging battle filled the van along with the smoke and dust that had settled onto the street.

"Price," one of the figures shouted.

Pierce and Nikolai recognized the voice as that of Soap.

"Soap get in here," Nikolai shouted as he moved towards the rear and helped the British captain get into the overturned vehicle.

The other figure at the door, one of the Loyalist Spetsnaz that had been in the second transport, crouched out of sight as he engaged the ambushers. Soap clambered into the van and moved towards the front where his wounded comrade was.

"Is he alive," Soap shouted as he saw the blood trail dripping down the dashboard.

"Da," Nikolai replied, "He has a pulse but he's lost a lot of blood."

"We need to stabilize him and get him out of here," Pierce added as the three men awkwardly moved about the inside of the van.

Soap instinctively checked Price's vitals, more of a reassurance to himself that his brother and mentor was in fact still alive. Satisfied, he turned back towards Nikolai and Pierce as he raised his hand to his ear piece and triggered the push to talk.

"Two-One Bravo, Hotel-Six," Soap began, "Have the BTR move up, we need cover to pull wounded from the van."

Several moments later, the ear piece cracked with Bowren's Texas drawl, "Copy that Hotel-Six, be there in sixty seconds."

"Pierce you're on point," Soap said, unslinging the M4A1 rifle that dangled across his chest and handed the weapon to the Marine.

"What is the plan," Nikolai asked as the sound of the 30mm auto cannon from the BTR slowly got louder.

"Get Price to a hard point and stabilize him," Soap began as he turned to Price's body, trying to find the best way to extract the old soldier, "Then push these bastards back."

"How many shooters we got," Pierce asked pulling the charging handle back to the assault rifle.

"Enough," Soap said, stopping and looking Pierce in the eyes.

The roar of the diesel engine and the constant burst of the auto cannon announced the arrival of the BTR. The three looked towards the rear of the van and saw the APC lumber past. Sparks could be seen dancing across the dull grey armor of the vehicle, acting as bullet magnet, just like the vehicles are so often called.

Soap's ear piece came alive once more, "Hotel-Six we're ready to move."

And with that, a loud thumping could be heard as Bowren slammed the overturned van announcing his arrival.

"Lets move," Soap said as he nodded towards the rear of the van before turning towards Price.

Pierce turned and scrambled towards the exit and quickly glanced out to get his bearings for the first time of the ambush. To his left, the direction they had been traveling, he could see the burning hauls of the lead BTR and transport. Several bodies were lying on the ground around the back of the transport. Most were soaked in a dark red that had stained the uniforms as well as the the road they now rested on. Two of the unfortunate Loyalists had caught fire and the charred remains still smoked and burned in the spot they were struck down.

The operational BTR had parked near the wreckage of the first vehicles and was firing at several of the buildings that lined the road where muzzle flashes could be seen in the doorways and windows. One of the hatches on the vehicle opened and four Loyalist soldiers piled out, diving behind cover before finding targets to engage.

"Christ," Pierce shouted as the Texan appeared next to him and fired several shots downrange before crouching behind the van.

"How ya doing chief," Bowren shouted over the gunfire as Pierce swung his legs out of the van and hit the dirt.

"We got ya covered," Pierce shouted to Soap in the van before then crouching next to Bowren, "My head's banging worse than that morning in Tijuana."

"That was a helluva weekend," Bowren said laughing.

"Where's the rest of the team," Pierce said as he gazed down the sight his M4.

"Rear security," Bowren answered, "Twenty meters back in a cross street."

Pierce squeezed off two round towards a doorway that several muzzle flashes had come from. A moment later, a black clad soldier dropped face first onto the ground. He then turned his head towards the area Bowren had said and saw Barnes leaning out from around a corner covering their flank.

"We're coming out," Soap said as he appeared at the rear of the van just above Bowren and Pierce, "Give me a hand."

Pierce stood up and let his M4 drop to his side, caught by the sling. The Marine extended both of his arms forward to receive Price's unconscious body from Soap. The former SAS captain handed his mentor off as delicately as he could given the situation they were in.

"Easy now," Soap said as Pierce grunted upon handling the weight of Price.

"I got him," Pierce replied before taking the precious cargo he now carried in his arms to behind cover of the van.

Pierce dropped to one knee and set Price down as gently as he could onto the road. He noticed that a makeshift bandage had been applied to his head and was already soaking in blood. Getting to his feet, Pierce turned and saw Soap and Nikolai already rounding the corner of the van. Bowren followed as did the Spetsnaz that had been prone outside for the last several minutes. Soap immediately took charge as he went straight for Price and picked him up, draping him over his shoulders fireman style.

"Marines you're with me," Soap said as he turned to the four soldiers around him, "You two cover from here."

"Da," Nikolai said, "Good luck."

"Cheers mate," Soap replied, "Lets move."

With that, Soap and the two Marines darted from the cover behind the van towards the alleyway where the remainder of the force was gathered. Nikolai and his Spetsnaz comrade took positions on either side of the overturned van and began firing towards the buildings where the enemy forces were.

While the three ran, dirt began kicking up at their feet as rounds impacted around them. Pierce and Bowren both ran into a slide and turned in a single fluid motion. Steadying themselves, both tried to find the shooter or shooters that had found them.

"You see him," Pierce shouted as he scanned the buildings on the right side of the road.

"Not yet-" Bowren began before being cut off as several more rounds kicked up around them, "Fuck, there he is, eleven o'clock."

Both Marines turned in the direction of the shooter and unloaded a half dozen rounds each. The doorway crumbled as the rounds tore sections of the building apart.

"Fuck it, lets move," Pierce said.

"I'm all for that," Bowren said as he pushed himself and turned, "Bounding five meter cover."

Pierce fired off several rounds towards the shooter's last know position as Bowren dashed several meters, turned and crouched and shouted for Pierce to do the same. They quickly covered the distance and rounded the corner of the side street where they were met by the rest of the Marines and Loyalist soldiers.

"He's in there," Barnes said as he turned and pointed to an open doorway several meters behind the gathered men.

Pierce walked past them and slipped into the building's interior. Upon entering the main room, he could see Price lying on a couch with a Loyalist medic already looking over him and taking care of his wounds. Soap was standing next to him observing before he saw Pierce enter the room.

"How is he," Pierce asked.

Soap shook his head as he walked towards the Marine, "He's still alive but there's no telling what's wrong from here. We need to get him back to the city where they can properly care for him."

"So how do we do that," Pierce asked, "March through them?"

"Exactly," Soap said, "We've already called for a QRF that'll be here in fifteen minutes."

"Worse ways to kill time I suppose," Pierce replied, "What's the game plan?"

The two men emerged from the house after discussing what their next move was going to be. They regrouped on the street with the remaining Marines and eight Loyalists that had survived.

"What are we doing here Eric," Barnes asked, seeing Pierce exit the building.

"Crossing this street first, then we're gonna kick some ass," Pierce said as he walked to the group of Marines hunkered down by a wall.

Pierce turned to see Soap relaying the plan to the Loyalist troops hunkered across the street. Several moments later, Soap looked up and gave a thumbs up to the Marines. He then led six of the Loyalist Spetsnaz around the opposite end of the block.

"Barnes, Reily," Piece began as he walked towards the edge of the wall, "You're up first, on my go."

"Copy that," Barnes acknowledged as he lined up near Pierce.

The five Marines got into position at the corner, tracers could be seen shooting across the street, hitting the ground, walls and obstructions that littered the area.

"Watch out for Nikolai by the van," Pierce said as he turned to his Marines who nodded, "Alright, covering!"

With that, Pierce slid his body around the side of the building and crouched on the corner, weapon raised. Bowren followed suit and stood above him as both fired off several rounds at targets downrange. Barnes and Reily then took off across the street as fast as they could, bullets snapping in the air around them as they ran.

After what felt like a lifetime, the two Marines slammed against the building on the opposite side of the street. Barnes waved his arm and gave a thumbs up to Pierce as the two then took position on their side of the street to cover the others.

"Covering," Barnes yelled as the two peaked out and fired their own volley downrange.

Bowren and Eckers darted from the cover of the building and dashed across the street. Pierce fired a half dozen rounds once more before joining them in their sprint.

The crash hadn't affected him much but as he ran, he could feel his entire body ache from being tossed around the interior of the van. Pierce tried to put it out of his head. His only thought right now was to get across the street.

As he crossed the center of the street, he could see out of the corner of his eye the BTR still absorbing fire from the enemy. Thankfully, whoever had ambushed them was more concerned with with an APC spouting fire than a group of Marines running almost a hundred meters behind them.

Just as he thought he was safe, Pierce abruptly fell forward head first, his body slamming into the ground. His momentum carried him and rolled several times past the cover of the building. He screamed out in pain loudly as his body slammed against the dirt.

"Eric," Barnes screamed as he saw him fall.

Bowren reacted quickly, reaching forward and dragging Pierce towards the cover of the wall.

"Check him for an exit wound," Barnes yelled as he swung his weapon around his body and began rummaging through pouches on his vest.

"Aah," Pierce groaned as Bowren began patting his body down, "I'm alright, I'm alright," he shouted.

"Huh," Barnes said as he stopped what he was doing.

"I'm alright," Pierce again shouted, pushing Bowren's hands off him, "Fucking tripped."

The Marines all turned to the street and saw a large pot hole that Pierce had mistakenly ran into, or rather, tried to run over. They all breathe a sigh of relief and laughed amused for a moment before helping Pierce to his feet so they could continue.

"Okay we push through these buildings and hopefully pop out on their flank hundred meters up that way," Pierce said as he led the team to a doorway on the side street.

The Marines entered the building and began working their way through the block room by room. Five minutes later, they emerged in an alleyway much closer to the fighting. Peaking out from alleyway, they could see the BTR actually behind them on the street. Pierce used his hands to move the team the opposite way from the main street.

"Got a doorway," Barnes said as he led the team along the narrow passage.

"Stay silent for as long you can," Pierce ordered as the team stacked against the doorway.

Barnes waited until he was patted on the shoulder, the signal to move. He leaned across the doorway and grabbed the handle. Twisting the knob, he pushed the door open slowly as he crept into the interior of the building.

The team entered a dimly lit garage that was empty save for several tool boxes and crates. A door was open, the sounds of footsteps and shouting could be heard. The Marines walked towards the door. Barnes crouched and poked his head through into a lit hallway. Further down, he could see shadows and see movement in a room on the opposite side of the hall.

Barnes leaned back into the garage, "Room ten meters down on the left."

"Prep two frags," Pierce ordered as he retrieved a frag grenade from one of his pouches, "We go loud on the blasts."

Reily retrieved a frag as the team moved. Barnes on point, followed by Pierce and Reily with the grenades. The team moved down the hallway several meters before Barnes stopped them. Pierce and Reily pulled the pins on the grenades and held them for two seconds before tossing them. The grenades bounced off the wall and landed in the room.

Seconds later, two explosions rocked the building. Dust and debris shot out of the doorway and filled the hallway with a dull grey.

"Move," Pierce shouted as he raised the M4 to his shoulder and the team darted forward.

Barnes and he entered the room while the three others filed into other areas of the building and covered them. Stepping foot into the room, the two Marines saw several bodies strung about on the floor. Each of them wore the same uniform, black utilities with helmets and combat goggles. These were the same shooters that had attacked them at the Loyalist base several days before.

They quickly moved around the room and checked that the men were indeed dead. Looking out the windows, they could see several muzzle flashes from across the street and several of the black clad shooters.

"Take 'em out," Pierce shouted as he dropped to one knee and drew a bead on one of the soldiers.

Pierce put his sights on one of the soldiers across the street and pulled the trigger. A round shot from his rifle and tore into the soldiers neck, a pink puff shooting out of the man as he dropped to the deck of the balcony. Barnes engaged two other soldiers that were ducked behind a car in the street, dropping both of them with several bursts of fire.

It happened in less than ten seconds, but they had taken out four more of the soldiers. They quickly retreated out of the room as their position was located and a cascade of fire poured into the room, shredding the furniture and bodies that littered it.

"Clear the second deck," Pierce shouted to Bowren who led Eckers and Reily to the stairwell.

Barnes and Pierce continued around the first floor of the building searching for any others. Several seconds later, they heard a long blast of automatic fire followed by a couple of bursts, then silence.

"We're clear up top," Bowren shouted throughout the building.

Moments later they were thudding back down the stairwell to regroup with Pierce and Barnes. The Marines then exited the building onto the street on the opposite side of the building. Within moments, they had come under fire from a squad of the black clad soldiers that had also left their building to take on the Marines.

"Get some fire on them," Pierce yelled as he leaned up behind a car accompanied by Barnes and Bowren.

Reily dove into a ditch that lined the side of the road and then made his way up to a corner on the building and propped himself up against that. Eckers, who had been the last out of the original building, scrambled back into the interior and took cover underneath the windows that were shattered by dozens of rounds that tore into the house.

The squad of black clad soldiers dispersed along the street behind various forms of cover. The two enemies were only separated by less than fifty meters. Rounds struck the car that Pierce had ducked behind. The sound all too familiar of his experiences in the van less than a half hour before.

Bowren ducked out behind the front end of the car and fired a dozen rounds at two of the soldiers running across the street to get an angle on the Marines. His first burst hit the lead soldier in the legs, sending him crumpling to the ground. The second burst hit the other in the upper body, sending him spiraling to the ground a few feet from his comrade. Bowren fired two additional rounds into the first soldier to finish the job before rolling back behind the car.

Eckers, who was posted up in the building, got the bright idea to head to the second floor and get an angle on the attackers. He crawled away from the window he was at and made his way to the stairwell. Drywall and debris fell around him as the wall was peppered with bullet holes.

He finally made it away from the incoming fire and pushed himself up to his feet and hustled up the stairs. He rounded the corner and went through a room they had just been in and cleared of four black clad soldiers, their bodies lying in pools of blood. He ignored them and rushed into the other room where several windows provided an excellent view of the street below and his fellow Marines.

Eckers fired a quick burst of his M249 SAW at the window, shattering the glass that fell to the floor at his feet. He propped his weapon against the frame and began to lay down a vast amount of fire onto the positions of the enemy soldiers.

From his position behind the car, Pierce had no where to go. He was pinned down with most of his team. Bowren had just killed two of them but there was at least eight more in front of them. He was about to roll out from behind the cover when the glass in a window above him shattered, followed by a long burst of automatic fire.

"That a boy Eckers," he shouted before rolling out from behind the car and fired off several bursts towards the enemy.

From his perch, Eckers could see a grouping of the soldiers behind a vehicle of their own downrange. He fired a burst at them, rounds skipping off the metal sending sparks everywhere. He saw one of the soldiers wrestling with something before he noticed what he had in his hand. Eckers drew a bead on the soldier and fired off a quick three round burst.

All the rounds struck home as the soldier dropped to the ground behind the car, his comrades shooting at the Marines didn't realize he had been struck down.

Pierce rolled out from behind the car again and took aim towards a vehicle opposite them that several of the enemy soldiers had taken cover behind. He could see at least two of them popped over top of the car, weapons resting on the hood and trunk firing at his Marines.

Before he could even squeeze his trigger, the soldiers were flipped over the car in an explosion of smoke and fragments. The gas tank of the car had been sliced open by the fragments and the resulting explosion sent a ball of flames into the air as metal debris from the car shot in every direction.

"Hot damn," Bowren admired.

"So when are we suppose to get help," Barnes asked as he slid back down the car reloading his weapon.

"Should be any minute now," Pierce assured him crouching side by side, "But until that happens keep this fire up."

Pierce crouched over the trunk of the car and scanned for targets, finding one ducking behind a dumpster. He fired off several rounds, all striking the metal container. Right as he was going to duck back down, something caught his eye in the distance.

"Ask and you shall receive," Pierce said as he fired two quick rounds at the soldier that appeared from behind the dumpster, striking him in the chest sending him backwards.

Barnes looked over the car through the shot out windows and could see in the distance through the smoking remain of the car, a convoy of BTRs, BMDs, and light transport vehicles. The APCs targeted the remaining soldiers that were now caught in between the Marines and the Loyalists.

Two BTRs rolled down the street the Marines were on and continued past towards the cross street where Price was being tended to. Moments later, a transport stopped and a fully armed squad of Loyalists deployed and cleared the remaining houses along the street.

Pierce led the Marines to the idling transport, "This our taxi?"

* * *

**Invasion +12**

**2246 Loyalist Command Post**

**Stavropol, Russian Federation**

Price had been unconscious since the ambush, but news that he was awake traveled fast through the former school that now served as a command post for Loyalist forces in the city. Pierce and Soap both jumped at the news and followed one of the Loyalist medics through several hallways before entering the gymnasium that now served as a field hospital.

Lying on one of the cots, Price was awake and talking to Kamarov and Nikolai already. Pierce and Soap joined them around the bed.

"How are you feeling sir," Soap asked immediately.

"I've had better days but this scratch will go away," Price replied with a grin.

"A few days here and you'll be back to hundred percent in no time," Kamarov said patting Price on the shoulder.

"If only we were that lucky," Price said before looking at Soap and Pierce, "Makarov is going to strike again soon."

"What's his target," Soap asked folding his arms.

Price turned to Pierce, "He's going to hit the 1st Marine Division with chemical weapons once they reach Vladivostok."

Pierce's whole world stopped.

"Wh-why," he finally muttered out after several seconds.

"Civilians and military targets, chance for an escalation of the conflict," Price listed off, "Could be any number of reasons, but it's going to happen."

"Not exactly gonna be cake walk getting there," Soap reminded everyone as they were several thousand miles away.

"I can check with Command but," Kamarov began, not sounding optimistic about securing transport from an already depleted Loyalist Air Corp.

Price stayed silent, observing Pierce, who hadn't shown any emotion since being told of the next target.

As if a light bulb went off, Price snapped out of his trance and turned to Nikolai, "Where's your sat-phone?"

"With the rest of the gear, why," Nikolai asked.

Price swung his legs out of the cot and got to his feet. For losing as much blood as he did and his age, he moved quite well as he marched through the hallways towards the sat-phone, the four others following, sharing each other's confusion. Upon reaching the room, Nikolai opened his bag and retrieved the device and tossed it to Price who caught it and began dialing a number.

"Who's he calling," Pierce asked Soap as Kamarov asked the same to Nikolai in their native tongue.

Soap stayed quiet as he watched Price hold the sat-phone to his ear.

After several moments, Price spoke, "Sir, it's Price."

* * *

**So what did you think of the chapter? Price had a close call but they know where Makarov is going to strike next. Stay tuned for what happens next.**

**Since this story has been up here for almost two years (wow) and was on a year long hiatus, there are bound to be some new readers to this. Please leave your thoughts and comments, it'll really help in encouraging me to keep writing more.**

**I'm also happy to see UrgentOrange is still alive and kicking, although I'm kinda hurt that you forgot about this story lol. No in all seriousness I'm glad you're still interest in the story and would love to hear more of your input.**

**Until the next chapter everyone.**


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